Nemesis: In-between time
by Look-for-the-miracles
Summary: A collection of one-shots and short stories as they go from AOU to CA:CW. Follow Astraea and the Avengers as they grow closer as a team and a family, getting up to all sorts of trouble both on and off the battlefield. Whether it be missions, movie nights, or messy food fights the Avengers are a great team. They'll stick together in battle and in the in-between time. No matter what.
1. Midnight meetings

**Hey guys, I'm back with a new story.**

 **As you've probably guessed from the summary, this story is a collection of one-shots and short stories that will explore the team as they grow as learn together in the time from _Age of Ultron_ to _Civil War_. I'll be doing mission stories as well as ones that are more fluff based. There'll be crazy shenanigans and lots of fun, along with a bit of angst in the mix.**

 **Now, this first chapter is a little shorter than the length of most of the chapters I've got written. At the moment I have 4 complete chapters, 2 nearly finished, and 2 that are just about started. As this is mostly independent stories it maybe doesn't matter as much which order I post them (excluding the multi-chapter tales). However, there will be some references to earlier chapters in others as well.**

 **Well, here we are. Of course, I still don't own Marvel. But its still my pleasure to present my newest story to you all.**

 **EDIT: I should probably have mentioned that it'd be a good idea to read my first story in this series, Nemesis, first before reading this one. There are two main OCs that go through the _Age of Ultron_ storyline with the Avengers and will feature heavily here. There'll be certain buts of information you'll need from reading Nemesis, although the events of AOU stay virtually the same.**

* * *

Midnight meetings

* * *

The kitchen lights are on when Astraea patters down the wooden hallway, barefoot and tired, which surprises her. It's just about midnight, and surely no one else is awake now, right? A soft murmur of multiple voices trickles under the door and Astraea pauses, hand on the handle. She only wants to get a glass of milk, but it seems like others are struggling to sleep as much as she is. Perhaps some company will be nice.

She pushes the door open, slipping into the room quietly and blinks at the sudden brightness of it. Astraea had wandered down to the common room/kitchen in the dark, using the pale light of the moon outside and muscle memory to travel this far. The light is almost blinding and she stands still for a few moments, eyes screwed up against the brightness. Someone clears their throat and Astraea heads into the kitchen, searching for a clean glass in the cupboards.

Steve, Natasha, Sam, and Madison are all sat at the breakfast bar on stools, chatting softly as they sip from an assortment of mugs. The air is heavy with a sweet, chocolatey smell.

"Hot chocolate?" Astraea asks, filling her glass with milk.

"Well hello to you too," Madison chuckles, raising her mug to her. "Come to join the party, Rhea?"

Astraea shrugs. "I just wanted milk. Didn't think anyone else would be up." Four pairs of eyes look at her in surprise. "What? Are you guys having an insomniacs-anonymous meeting or something?"

"We're actually insomniacs-united if you want to join." Natasha deadpans and takes a sip of her drink.

Astraea's mouth waters; that hot chocolate smells so good.

Natasha notices. "Steve makes the best hot chocolate ever. Seriously, I think it's another superpower because nobody makes it as good as this." She spins around to face Steve. "Do you have a secret ingredient or something?"

"Made with love, Natasha." Steve chuckles slightly. "Or maybe people just can't make good hot chocolate anymore."

"Touché," Natasha concedes. "Say, super ears, reckon you can make something with your lab buddies to make this hot chocolate every time so we can have when Steve's not here?"

"Maybe," Astraea considers. "I'll need to try some first, see if it's reproducible." She waggles her eyebrows at Steve and sighs but gets up to make another mug. Astraea fist-pumps the air. "Whoop! Love a bit of hot chocolate."

"Rhea has a massive sweet tooth," Madison tells the rest of them. "I don't how she does it, but if there's something sweet nearby she'll track it down. Very useful for finding good bakeries for tasty treats. Although," she gives Astraea a critical look, watching as she licks a chocolate moustache off her top lip, "I'm pretty sure she'll eat anything sweet if she can get her hands on it."

"Hey! That's not entirely true. Super senses make it easier to find the good stuff."

"And your insatiable appetite for sweets and stuff."

Astraea makes a face and continues drinking her hot chocolate.

A few moments later, a brown-haired head pops around the corner. It's Wanda, clad in plaid pyjamas and rubbing at her eyes sleepily. She starts slightly at the sight of them all before shuffling into the kitchen and peering at their mugs with interest.

"Is that hot chocolate?" She asks, quiet and timid. "Could I … I mean, would it be okay if I could try some?" Wanda drops her gaze to the counter. She's been unsure about what she can and can't do ever since the Avengers accepted her to the team. Despite the pool party the previous weekend, Wanda often looks as though she's worried they'll all leave or say she can't stay anymore. As such, the other Avengers have made it their mission to make sure Wanda knows she's loved and protected her, with her new family.

"Sure, Wanda," Steve says. "You can have anything in the kitchen anytime, remember?"

She nods slightly and accepts the steaming mug with a muffled, "Thank you." Wanda joins Astraea, leaning against the countertop on the other side of the island breakfast bar.

They sit in silence for a few minutes, sipping at their mugs and soaking in each others' company. Then Sam gets up to put his empty mug in the sink and Vision walks through the wall. Sam screams and swears an impressive list of swear words.

"Jesus, man. You know how to scare someone. Almost gave me a heart attack."

"Evidence suggests that you did not nearly undergo myocardial infarction," Vision says, tilting his head at Sam. "I do not understand why you think you nearly had a heart attack."

"It's a figure of speech," Sam explains, "meaning that you scared me really bad."

"Ah. Thank you. I shall add the phrase to my list of human sayings that make no logical sense."

Rhodey pops through the open kitchen seconds later, panting slightly and half-dressed in normal clothes and half-dressed in pyjamas.

"I got a message from FRIDAY, saying none of you was in your rooms," he pants. "Nice of her to mention it was because of a midnight meeting and not an attack from giant, green slugs."

They all shudder, remembering the mission. It had been a very messy battle and the first of their missions as a team. They'd done pretty well, except for the incident with a particularly large slug that had exploded all over a wedding as they stood outside for photographs. The resulting slime had painted everyone in neon green and made the wedding day memorable for all the wrong reasons. The Avengers had apologised, of course, but the furious looks of the bride and groom's faces were scary than the slugs.

"Well, looks like we've got everyone here," Sam observes, looking around at the group leaning against the counter or sat on stools at the breakfast bar. "Insomniacs-united is now ready for our first official meeting."

"Hey, I'm Madison and I live in the Avengers' compound," Madison starts to talk, sending everyone into a round of giggles.

They're all tired and exhausted but unable to sleep properly. But, somehow, getting together as a team really helps them relax. Maybe none of them has shared why exactly they can't sleep, but it's a start. Trusting each other, spending time together as a team really makes them draw closer. Makes them become a family, Astraea realises with a small smile. Maybe they aren't your average, perfectly functional family but they build on each other's strengths and support one another, the way you should.

 **oOo**

It's three in the morning when FRIDAY announces that they should go the bed as they have training in the morning and could be called out for missions at any time. They need rest, she tells them, and that will only come from sleep.

Still, they all have another round of the special Roger's hot chocolate before Rhodey suggests a toast.

"What for?" Wanda questions softly.

"Midnight meetings, and the friends that share them," he replies.

"To midnight meetings!" The team choruses, raising their mugs in a toast to the night and each other.

* * *

 **Well, there you go. A nice little chapter to start of this collection. I'm thinking this one is near to the time when the team have only recently moved into the base. They're still finding their feet a little around each other, but as time goes on they'll get closer together.**

 **I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, and feel free to tell me if you have.**

 **Thank you for reading.**

 **Look-for-the-miracles**


	2. Food thieves

**Welcome back to Nemesis: In-between time for this week's chapter. This one is another fluff-based one-shot but I've got a mission two-shot coming up for the next two weeks. As I've probably said before, this collection will have both action and fluff related stories so there'll be something for everyone.**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoy this next chapter. It's more around the average length for the chapters I've gotten written for this collection than the last one. I'm aiming around 3,000 words for each, with the chapters maybe being a little above or below.**

 **I still don't own Marvel. For some reason, they haven't decided to transfer ownership to me for free. :(**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

Food thieves

* * *

Mealtimes at the Avengers' compound are always eventful, to say the least. A combination of vibrant, different, vivid personalities and varied tastes always leads to calamity in the kitchen. Assuming, of course, that all of them are even eating at the same time anyways. Quite often, any of them can enter the kitchen at any time during the day to find someone making a snack or cooking food. Usually, Steve is very frequently eating or preparing food in the kitchen (due to his rapid metabolism) but bad memories or disturbing nightmares drive the need for comfort food in some of the Avengers. But there's also the ongoing mission to feed Vision the biggest variety of human foods that they can, having recently discovered that the android can eat the same food that his human teammates can.

Needless to say, mealtimes at the Avengers' compound are never boring.

 **oOo**

"Damn!" Astraea mutters, scanning the cupboards for any trace of her favourite snack. But the cupboards yield no results, and Astraea closes the door dejectedly. "I was really looking forward to that!"

The snack in question is the last few Jammy Dodgers that had been carefully hidden in an empty packet of pasta deep within the cupboard, behind a stack of cans of tomato soup. The soup is for Natasha, who seems to have a fondness for hugging a bowl of the stuff in winter. It's no longer winter, but it's still a comfort food for the female Avenger. At the moment though, Astraea doesn't care about the Widow's preference for soup. No, she wants to hunt down whoever stole her biscuits and … what? She's not quite sure about the next part, but Astraea knows it won't be pretty for however stole her biscuits.

Astraea sighs, and starts hunting for something else to eat. Maybe some of those pop tarts that half the team stocked throughout the kitchen.

 **oOo**

A cautious hand slips open a cupboard door, searching for the treasure hidden within. It's the second stage of their plan, to slowly steal everyone's favourite foods. The plan had been carefully set, and they had already seen Astraea hunting for the person who stole her biscuits. That had left the kitchen empty, allowing for the theft to take place. The Avengers would all blame each other, and the thief could sit back and watch them all squirm under the suspicion of their fellows.

The perfect learning opportunity.

 **oOo**

Natasha paces the kitchen, bare feet pounding a steady rhythm into the tiled flooring. It's cold on her skin, but she doesn't care. Someone has taken her leftover Khvorost – angel wings. The delicate pastry ribbons are one of her favourite treats from her homeland. Something that was actually a good memory, unlike the rest of her life there. Even if she couldn't bring herself to reclaim some parts of her birth country, she could at least take back the foods that she loved.

Now someone has taken the eight angel wings she left in a container behind the various boxes of tea and packets of coffee beans in one of the upper cupboards. You certainly couldn't see the bow from her, and now Natasha is cursing herself for not hiding them in her room. Nobody would dare take them then, but she had elected to trust that her teammates wouldn't steal her food. Well, she corrects herself, at least she hoped they wouldn't take all of it.

It looks at though she has been proven wrong. Natasha could make some more, only for the thief to come back and take them. Perhaps it would do better to find the thief and make sure they wouldn't do so again. It could only have been one of the Avengers, Madison, Maria, Doctor Cho, or Selvig. No one else had access to the Avengers' personal quarters.

Natasha left the kitchen, stalking off like a wolf chasing its prey. She's got a thief to find.

 **oOo**

There was definitely a bowl full of oranges when Sam left the kitchen after his late-night glass of milk – a futile attempt to help him sleep – and now that fruit bowl is empty. Which is strange, because Sam specifically tapped a note to the bowl requesting, rather passive-aggressively, that others shouldn't take them. The handful of oranges were the last bunch he had from his mother's orange tree, carefully grown and tended by his mother for many long years. Freshly squeezed orange juice was his favourite anytime drink as a child and remains so now.

Unfortunately, it doesn't look as though he'll be getting any now.

Sighing slightly, Sam moves to the fridge and pulls out a cartoon of orange juice. It's nice, but not quite the same as freshly squeezed orange juice. They don't even have any other oranges in the kitchen, so Sam can't even have a drink that's close to what he actually wants. There's nothing like the taste of his mama's home-grown oranges, though. Looks like he'll have to stick with the 'from concentrate' stuff that everyone else drinks. Better than nothing, as his mother always used to say whenever any of her children complained about not having exactly the thing they wanted. Especially if that something was food.

"Better something than nothing," he mutters to himself, taking a sip of cool orange juice and leaning back against the counter.

The kitchen is peaceful at the moment, with only Sam there. When everyone else arrives, it'll be busy. Busier than a train station as rush-hour, or so Sam likes to think. Which may come sooner than he prefers. Footsteps echo down the corridor towards the kitchen-dinner and several people burst in.

Wanda, with brown hair tousled and messy, steps into the kitchen laughing and smiling with Madison and Rhodey. The latter is acting out a story, a wide smile on his face as he moves his hands expressively. The trio greets Sam with warm smiles and finds seats around the breakfast bar.

Sam raises his glass in Wanda's direction. Her hair has several leaves in it, and grass stains mark her white t-shirt. "What happened? You look like you've been dragged through a bush backwards."

Wanda giggles in response, doubling over from mirth. Sam gives Rhodey and Madison a confused look.

"Ah … that is, would you believe, exactly what happened," Rhodey starts. "I was just telling it to Madison. Now you see, I was walking through the gardens when I … "

With that, Rhodey launches into an explanation of how he found Wanda in the garden, practising controlling objects with her abilities. The young adult had moved on from simply throwing large objects to being able to move slimmer ones, like the rope she was using, with more finesse. However, Wanda, on the other side of the bush, didn't see Rhodey on the other side. The looped rope caught the man's arm and he tugged at, unaware that Wanda was attached to it (in a way).

" – and then, I heard a shriek as I moved the rope. Wanda had fallen through the bush." Rhodey shakes his head slightly. "If she hadn't relaxed her hold on the rope I wouldn't have been able to move it. As it was … "

"I fell through a bush!" Wanda finishes, her smile easier than it as been before. She is still getting used to her new freedoms and her new family but is slowly being able to relax around her new teammates. Maybe the bush incident has been a good thing, helping her break down some of those barriers.

A crash sounds behind them. Madison, having already heard the story, had gotten up to fetch her box of sugar-snap pea pods from the fridge. The box, however, is empty, lying on the floor where she dropped it.

"Rhach!" She mutters, staring at the empty box for a moment before being it up. "Who even steals peas?! That's like stealing broccoli or cabbage but something I actually like. Damn it."

"Maybe the same person who steals oranges," Sam adds in a dry voice, looking around at his friends. They stare back with confused expressions. "My oranges from my mama's tree. I only had a few left but they were all gone when I came in here."

"That's weird," Wanda muses, "maybe I ought to see if _my_ snack is safe." She moves in the kitchen, pulling out a nearly empty jar of Nutella. Since coming to America, Nutella has become one of Wanda's favourite new treats. She and Astraea both have ridiculously sweet teeth.

"Apparently not." Madison looks at the jar with a critical eye. "Did someone eat it all?"

"No. I had another full jar but that is gone, only the mainly empty one is left."

"At least they left you with something, Sam and I have nothing." Madison pouts slightly, staring at her empty box in annoyance. "I guess we have a food thief or food _thieves_ to catch."

"Hmm … Perhaps I should check my own then, or is it guaranteed to be gone?" Rhodey says quietly.

Just then, the door opens again and Astraea marches in, looking slightly flustered and worried.

"Oh goody!" She murmurs upon seeing the others. "I looking for someone else to ask – has anyone nicked my biscuits? And no, not those weird as fuck things you Americans call biscuits; they are more like scones than biscuits." Astraea gives the seated Americans a confused look. "Who even eats gravy with any kind of biscuit? Anyways, my biscuits are missing, but I didn't eat them."

"All our snacks are missing." Rhodey pauses briefly. "Actually, we're just assuming my food is gone too, but I've no idea."

"So, there's some sort of serial food thief here then?" Natasha remarks, putting her hands on her hips.

Astraea snorts with laughter, covering her mouth with one hand and doubling over as everyone stares at her. "Oh, come on! Serial thief? Like _cereal thief?!_ That was pure pun gold and none of you realised it." She pouts mockingly, laughing softly. "Why does nobody here appreciate puns?"

"Uh … right, moving on," Sam continues, giving Astraea a side-eye look of concern. "How about we track down this thief first and worry about cracking puns later. It's probably not anyone here if we've all had snacks stolen."

"This is turning into Cluedo, accept it's the food that's been murdered instead of a person," Madison comments.

"Sure," Rhodey says, rolling his eyes. "Except I'm pretty sure it's not possible to murder food that's not alive."

"What is Cluedo?" Wanda asks quietly. "Is it some sort of game where you murder people and how to pretend it wasn't you?"

"Er … to be honest, that wasn't that far off. It can take a lot of effort not to murder the people you're playing with sometimes." Astraea gave Madison a dark look. "But otherwise you're trying to find out who murdered the murdered person and where and what weapon. Unless somebody purposely puts the wrong cards in the envelope."

Madison didn't flinch under Astraea's glare. "Okay – that isn't strictly true. I didn't mess the cards up, I just forget to sort them properly. I didn't know that I'd end up putting two weapons in the envelope along with the person and room. That wasn't my fault."

"I'm still holding that against you." Astraea smiles at Madison though, despite her words.

"Ahem … getting back to the matter in hand – " Natasha starts up, but gets interrupted by Steve walking through the open door.

"Are we having an impromptu meeting or something?" Steve asks, eyes crinkling as he smiles gently. "And you didn't invite me?"

"Would you happen to have a hidden snack in the kitchen, Rogers?" Natasha asks, straight to the point. "And would it happen to still be there, if you checked?"

Steve blinks in surprise at her questions. "That was an oddly specific bunch of questions. Why do you ask?"

"Because we've all had our favourite sneaky snacks stolen," Madison answers, boosting herself up on the countertop.

The group watch for a moment as Steve reaches up to the middle of the tallest cupboard, pulling down an empty box with a few crumps inside.

"Damn …" he mutters, "I was looking forward to eating those sugar-cookies. Looks like our mystery thief has struck all of us."

Everyone stands around, awkwardly gazing at each other in silence. Clearly, it can't be anyone of them there. All of them have had their snack stolen and all seem surprised that everyone else has experienced the same thing. Strange.

At that moment FRIDAY announces that the team's presence is requested outside, in the private garden for the Avengers, enclosed by hedges on three sides and covered with flower beds, fruit plants, and vegetable planters. Confused, the team head outside, muttering quietly among each other. They thought that between being the Earth's mightiest heroes and living together in the same space would prepare them for anything that could possibly happen. Apparently not.

 **oOo**

The thief finishes their final preparations with a small smile. Now they have finally gathered something from each of the members of the team. Their plan is almost complete; now they just need to bring it into action. The final stage is upon them and soon everything will come to head.

They can't wait to see the team's faces.

 **oOo**

As the team pads into the garden, a combination of bare feet and shoes trickle over the grass, slowly but surely emptying the kitchen into the garden. Astraea wiggles her bare feet in the grass, enjoying the tickly sensation of the cool grass between her toes. At first, nothing seems particularly of any interest at all. But as they move around a full bed of raspberry bushes, a heavily laden table is revealed.

Wanda rushes up to it first, laughing wildly. There are three jars of Nutella sat upon the table, along with several packets of biscuits, a tub of sugar-span peas, a plate full of sugar cookies, and a generous amount of everyone else's favourite treats. The team swarm the table in confusion, staring at the spread in front of them with surprise and shock lighting their eyes.

"Okay, this is just weird now. What the hell is going on with food today?" Madison says, fingering a pea pod with tanned fingers before shrugging and eating the whole thing whole. "Mmm … that was good. Another!" Laughing, she eats another three as the others stare.

"What if they've been laced with poison? Are you still so eager to eat more?" Natasha questions, her bright green eyes narrow down with suspicion, eyeing the table as though it might attack her. "It would be a perfect way to poison us, using our favourite foods to try and make us less suspicious."

"Yeah," Madison starts, still holding yet another pea pod, "but I figure this is the Avengers' base. There's like, maximum security and stuff here. Should be fine."

Natasha doesn't reply and keeps gazing at the spread warily.

Then, startling them all, Vision walks though the nearest wall.

"I assume you have found my surprise well." Nobody answers, staring in shocked silence at the android. "I thought you enjoy a feast of your favoured foods so I endeavoured to prepare one. Is it not to your liking?"

Astraea laughs lightly, running over to give Vision a quick one-armed hug. "It's awesome, Vis. Just a little unexpected, I suppose. How did you even get all this stuff?"

"I worked with Maria Hill to order the foods. Unfortunately, I do not know if I am capable of making such things as cookies so I am afraid they aren't homemade." Vision looks a little worried, but the warm smiles on the faces of his teammates put him at ease.

"Well," Steve says, rubbing his hands together in anticipation, "I think it's safe to say we'll enjoy this, Vision. Tuck in!"

* * *

 **Well there you have it, Vision just wanted to have a party with his friends and wasn't sure what foods to get them. What better than their favourite foods?**

 **Thanks for reading this chapter! Hope Y'all have a nice day.**

 **Next week, the team tackle their latest mission. Will they succeed or will things start going wrong as always?**

 **Look-for-the-miracles**


	3. Missing information

**It's Friday, and you guys know what that means? That's right, another chapter for all you wonderful people.**

 **This time around we have a mission-based two-shot with action, angst, and all sorts of emotion. So sit back and enjoy the ride by reading this week's chapter.**

 **As always, I am the proud owner of none of the Marvel characters and only own my OCs and original plotlines.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

Missing information

Part one of two

* * *

Her only way out is through a tunnel, half-collapsed and filling with water. If she doesn't make it out through there, there will be no getting out. Not for the first time, she prays silently for rescue. Unusual though it is for her to want to saved, this situation requires a little more her own skills. Hopefully she will be found before the creatures caught up with her, or she drowns, or she is crushed to death under a pile of rubble.

Time is running out.

 **oOo**

"So, you're telling me that there's some kind of weird factory place that makes mutated creatures, for fun?" Astraea asked, disgust and horror written clear over her face. "What kind of people run this place?"

"The kind that don't care for the kind of damage they cause," Natasha says smoothly. "While the main compound is isolated, a small town is within range of these creatures if they get loose. Intel has reached us that the people in control of this facility have lost control of the creatures."

"Our job is stop them from reaching the town or escaping the immediate area. This will mean having to kill most of the creatures as necessary," Steve continues from Natasha's instructions. "We can't let them reach the outside world. They'll cause death and destruction if they escape. Whatever means necessary to control them." He gives them all a hard look. None of the Avengers like the idea of killing all the creatures that are innocent of their creation but the animals won't have good lives as the results of cruel experiments. It's better for all to destroy them, no matter how hard it is. The team give Steve a series of nods.

"These creatures, what are they?" Vision asks in his dignified tones.

"Er … they've been described as giant, naked rats with tusks and scorpion stings."

"Giant baby rats?" Astraea asks with a giggle. Madison rolls her eyes at her from across the table. "Sounds a little like Wilddeoren to me. It's from _Merlin_ ," she adds.

"Moving on," Natasha skilfully turns the conversation back to the mission at hand. "We'll be setting off in ten minutes. Get ready and meet in the hangar. Bring all your gear and try not to forget your comms units this time." The red-head gives Sam a pointed glare.

"Hey, that was one time!" Sam argues, throwing his hands into the air.

"Whatever, flyboy. Just don't forget this time."

"Yes, Ma'am." Sam pulls off an exaggerated salute before solemnly handing Natasha his comms from his trouser pocket. The three younger females burst into a short chorus of giggles after that.

Steve coughs at the head of the table. "Alright then team, let's move out."

 **oOo**

In just under ten minutes flat, the entire Avengers team is safety strapped in to the Quinjet seats, jetting off to a remote part of Alaska. Natasha is piloting the aircraft but the team is otherwise all gathered in the back discussing strategy. Well, they _were_ discussing strategy until the conversation deviated to the pros and cons of toasted sandwiches over regular sandwiches. The arguments flew back and forth until Natasha called from the cockpit:

"We're ten minutes out guys. Get ready to rock n' roll." Her voice filters through the open door, accompanied by the sound of switches being flicked and buttons pressed.

"Alright Avengers, we'll run through the plan one last time," Steve waves a hand and a project of the compound appears in pale blue between the opposite rows of seats. "Natasha, Astraea, and Vision will infiltrate the base through the south fence. Wanda and I will take the north-west entrance, with Sam and Rhodey for aerial support. Our aim is to keep those creatures within the compound. If that's not possible, us ground forces with have to tackle them as they try to get out. Vision, Rhodey, and Sam will sweep up any who get past us." He fixes them with a stern look. "Above all, we cannot let any get within 25 miles of the nearest town. They have to be subdued or put down before that's possible. All of them."

The team nod their assent. In a few short moments, they'll be setting down near the experiment compound. If things go well, they'll destroy the factory and the forsaken creatures produced by it. If things don't … well, hopefully, they'll be able to keep the creatures from reaching the nearby town. Hopefully.

 **oOo**

"Landing in 30 seconds!" Natasha calls, loud and clear. "Let's go take this base in true Avengers style."

"You mean we make a huge mess and Fury turns up to save the day?" Steve raises an eyebrow, leaning against the side of the jet.

"I suppose that's true. I was thinking more that we make a plan, fail to stick to it and improvise a new and creative way to save the day with only a few minutes to spare."

"That too," Steve concedes with a small smile. "Right Avengers, stay sharp and let's move out. Follow the plan and we'll try not to cause too much trouble."

The Quinjet hits the ground and the team unstrap from their seats, grabbing equipment and filing out of the opening hatch. The ground is covered in a layer of fine snow, narrow trees shot up around them, and the glint of sunlight on metal shines in the distance. In that direction lies the compound and their goal.

 **oOo**

Astraea, Natasha, and Vision stalk through the woods, moving ever closer to the southern side of the base. The metal fence glints ahead of them, stretching up to 12 feet or maybe higher, Astraea isn't certain. Ordinally, they would just cut through the fence but in this case, it doesn't make sense to weaken the fence and make it easier for the creatures to escape. Vision will fly them over, though Astraea's sure that she and Natasha could climb or jump over it if necessary. Intelligence reports the fence is sometimes electrified, however, so they opted for a little lift instead. Neither of the female Avengers are particularly eager to be electrocuted.

There's only minimal resistance as they creep within a few feet of the fence. Only two guards patrol outside. They're quickly dispatched by Astraea's electric batons and Natasha's Widow Bites. So far, so good for their little group. There's no telling no long their good fortune will last, though.

Once inside the compound, the team heads straight towards the nearest building. Altogether the whole place seems smaller than Astraea expected, covering only a handful of acres, with two or three buildings within the fencing. Several lorries and trucks litter the area in front of the north-west entrance. That's the main one, with another small one to the east. The eastern comes from a covered passage straight from the largest building which seems an awful lot like a strategic weakness. But Natasha and Steve thought it'd be heavily protected – considering its weak position – so didn't opt for an attack there.

Hence, their trip over the fence.

Within a few minutes of running, the trio is inside the main building. They've slipped into the nearby control room, deleting all evidence of the team's arrival and setting the cameras on a loop. The footage won't show anything but an empty corridor where Widow, Vision, and Nemesis are, and only reflect a typical scene for where the others are. Natasha relays their progress over the comms.

"We're in position. Control room is secure and the cameras are set. We'll be moving out now." Natasha's voice sounds both around Astraea and from her ear piece. It's an odd sensation for anyone, but especially with Astraea's enhanced hearing.

"Roger that, Widow," Steve replies. "Scarlet and I are taking the main entrance now."

"Alright. Try not to be late to the show, Cap."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

With that, Natasha gestures them out of the room, taking point. They slip down the corridor, all of them with near soundless footsteps. As hoped, if not expected, the corridor is empty until they move further in.

There's something confusing about the whole place. Throughout their trip in the main building, the trio have spotted no signs of laboratories or the necessary equipment to make and house such dangerous creatures. There's only a few doors that branch off into offices, recreational areas, and storage space. Nothing like the advanced equipment they were expecting. Clearly, there's something missing from the intel. And that's not forgetting the hatches built into the floor at intervals down every corridor. Something doesn't add, and it's making Astraea uneasy.

Natasha doesn't show any outward signs of unease or worry, but Astraea knows she has to be. Natasha strikes her as someone who likes to know as much as possible about their targets and missions before completing the task. When something doesn't have all the information … it doesn't sit well with her.

They trek on in silence, with only hand gestures to communicate between themselves. By now they've searched the whole building and found nothing. All the offices are empty and don't even hold computers to hack. Everything is on paper and they don't have the time to search through all of that right now.

Astraea sits down besides one of the hatches, listening to the slight echoing noises coming from somewhere below it. Intrigued, she presses one ear to the ground and listens. After a few moments, her ears pick up the slightly echoey noises she'd associate with a huge cave or tunnel. She sits up and looks at the hatches with renewed interest.

"I think there's some sort of underground base," She says, knowing that both her teammates on the comms and her two companions will hear her. "I can … there are sounds typical of large caves and stuff coming from down there. I can _hear_ the echoes and stuff. It's not too far down from where we are now, like a couple of metres or so."

"Are you certain, super ears?" Natasha questions gaze flicking towards the nearest hatch, glossy and chrome. "It could explain why we haven't found anything here."

"We haven't finished searching the third building yet," Steve interjects on the comms, "Wanda and I may find something here."

"It may still be a good idea to investigate the caves. If all the creatures are down there, maybe we can blow it and stop them from getting out." This is Sam, coming from somewhere outside the compound. He and Rhodey are stationed outside as aerial support – just in case, the ground teams can't control the creatures.

"And if they aren't there? We need a better idea of what we're dealing with before we make any rash decisions." Natasha, cool-headed and calm as always steps in.

"Yeah, let's be _rational_ about this," Astraea giggles, earning a glare from Natasha clearly meaning 'not the time for this'.

"I'll go investigate the underground structures," Natasha says. "If I locate the creatures then we can start planning what to do about it. We need more information and the only way to get it is to go down it the caves."

"They could be crawling with guards and personnel, Widow," Steve warns. "It'd be better to go with another. Take at least Nemesis or Vision, if not both. We have to be careful; there's no telling what could be hidden down there."

"Noted." Natasha eyes both her companions. "Come on you two, we've got some rats to find."

 **oOo**

The three of them are crouched in a narrow rocky tunnel, hiding around the corner from a group of guards. Vision informs them that there is a separate camera system down here but he is working to block it. Maybe the team doesn't have JARVIS to do the tech things anymore, but Vision is proving his mettle.

Natasha takes point once more, leaping out around the corner and slamming her fist into an unsuspected forehead. The woman goes down and Natasha spins to kick at another. Astraea launches herself at another, pulling him to the ground. Vision makes quick work of the other two. His yellow beam ends their lives quickly and efficiently. The trio moves on.

It quickly becomes clear that the underground base is much larger than they had expected. There's a labyrinth of tunnels stretching beneath the compound, snaking down with multiple layers stacked over each other. Larger caves seem to house most of the cages as well as acting as exercise areas for the creatures. The offices below the surface are actually equipped with computers, so they duck inside one to see what they can gather from it.

Vision downloads the data into his open systems for later processing. Another handy talent of his, Astraea muses as they leave the sterile office again. The working environment here is very strange. There are no photos or personal belongings in any of the private work spaces. It seems very secret and she begins to wonder how the Avengers' people even managed to gather the information that they have. And what a small about it seems that they have. There's something peculiar about the base – the team just have to figure out what.

"I think we should head out now. We've found everything that we need," Astraea says under her breath, moving close enough to whisper to Natasha. "There's no reason to stick around if we can blow the base."

"I'm not sure. Something isn't right about this place and … we've got a duty to find out more about this place." Natasha runs one hand through her hair.

"But we have the data from the computer," Astraea presses. "What more do we need?"

Natasha whirls around in a flurry of red hair. "And none of that might hold the answers we need. I know it seems like we've completed our goal but trust me, that goal has shifted. We just need to find out where that goal has shifted to." A faint smile appears on her lips. "Trust me, I'm a veteran of wacky missions and missions that lack enough intel. Follow my lead and we'll be fine."

Astraea wants to protest that she's not worried about things going wrong, she just wants to get out of the creepy tunnels. She's relatively certain she can hear water running close by; it could be a natural underground river or water pipes of some kind. If the base blows, Astraea doesn't wan tot be stuck underground when it does. Never mind being buried by rubble, they could drown too. Still, they should be able to get out fine.

Then Vision drops a bombshell, "I do believe the communication devices have been struggling to maintain contact with those above ground. Something is interfering with the signal, although I have been able to hear some transmissions."

Both females stop, looking at Vision with varying degrees of horror.

"Are you saying they might have heard only parts of our conversations and not the whole thing?" Astraea asks, feeling the panic rising up her throat like tsunami wave ready to sweep her away.

"We'll be fine. There's nothing we could have said that might have consequences for down here." Natasha is calm as always, taking control of the situation.

"Uh … Yeah, but I did mention about blowing the base up. What if they heard that part?"

"It's unlikely they heard that. Besides, surely they won't attempt to blow the base if they don't know where we are?"

A loud rumble answers her question. The walls are shaking slightly, cracks appearing in the pathways nearby. After a moment the tremors stop but there's no denying their cause.

"Great, looks like we're trapped." Natasha presses one hand to her comm as if trying to will it to work. "Can anyone hear me? This is Black Widow. Nemesis, Vision, and I are still underground. I repeat we are still underground. It is not safe to blow the caves."

A crackled response barely comes through Astraea's own comm. "I think they … safe to blow … it's fine … mustn't be … not underground … light 'em up …" It's Rhodey's voice, distorted and stuttering through the static. The words are broken up, but it's clear it must be the same on the other side. Rhodey has hard only snatches of Natasha's words and strung the garbled mess into something that makes sense. Only, it might just spell the end for the three underground Avengers.

"Fuck," Natasha swears, slamming her hand against the rocky wall. "They're definitely bringing the base down now. We've gotta get out of here. Now!" She turns to Vision, urgency lighting her eyes. "Vision, where's the nearest hatch?"

"Approximately 300 metres away, just along the tunnel." The response from the Avenger is fast.

"Great, let's move it, people!" She pushes Astraea into action, jolting her into starting up the tunnel.

As they set off running, a tremor rocks the caves once more. The narrow cracks widen and the whole place shakes. Somewhere in the distance, the shrieks of people and animals echo in the wide spaces of the caves. Then the ceiling begins to crumble, chunks of dusty rock slamming into the ground around them. They run on, hoping to flee the destruction before it's too late.

Just behind Vision and Astraea a huge pile of rocks comes loose and smashes into the ground. Astraea spins around, eyes wide. Natasha is gone, blocked from view by the shaking pile of debris. As she prepares to start shifting rocks, Natasha's voice rings out from behind the wall.

"Go! I'll be fine … there are other exits I can try. You've gotta get out of here."

Astraea shakes her head, stubbornly refusing to move. "No! We can get you out. I just need a little time. Just … let me try!"

There's no pause between Natasha's reply; urgency fuels her words. "Vision, take her out." There's a sharp crack as more rocks come tumbling down, cutting off Natasha's words. "Go!"

Vision takes Astraea by the arm and swoops through the tunnels, flying low as he powers his way towards the nearest hatch. His protocols include protecting his teammates and friends. Even without such programming, Vision has learned to trust these crazy humans in his short time of existing. Protecting them is a given. Maybe he can only get one to safety this time, but he will be back. None of his new friends will be left behind, not today, not ever. Not if he has anything to do with it.

* * *

 **There you have it. Natasha has been separated from the rest of her team, and three of the Avengers are trapped underground as the others start exploding the cave system. Will they make it? Will they survive the threats lurking within the rocky passages? Tune in next Friday to find out.**

 **On another note, I just want to say that I hope none of the characters come across as OOC. I try to write them as best possible, but it obviously isn't necessarily always the easiest thing to write characters that aren't your own. All I can do it try I suppose.**

 **Anyways, on a completely unrelated sidenote, I went to go see Incredibles 2 this afternoon with two of my best friends. It was ... well, incredible! I really enjoyed the film and it was super funny so Y'all should go check it out. I know it's not exactly Marvel related, but it is a still a superhero film.**

 **I hope you've enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing. Although, that being said, I did end up leaving half of this chapter to be written whilst I wrote up a few of the next ones. Sometimes inspiration just disappears, but I went back to this after getting back into the writing mood from writing another couple of chapters.**

 **Thanks for reading.**

 **Look-for-the-miracles**


	4. Lost underground

**Hi there everyone, it's me again. *waves***

 **This week, we've got the second half of our disastrous mission. Will Natasha make it? Or will the threats lurking in the many tunnels overwhelm our favourite red-haired spy? Read on to find out!**

 **This chapter kinda got away with me a little bit, ending up at nearly 5,000 words. So we can see why this needed to be a two-shot and not just one chapter. I think nearly 8,000 or so words might have been a little much to read in one go. And, putting them in two chapters gives a little more suspense, so there's that too.**

 **Anyways, as always, I only own OCs and original plotlines.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

Lost underground

Part two of two

* * *

" _Natasha_!" Astraea's cry resonates through the air, disregarding the protocol for using codenames in the field. "She's still down there. Vision," She spins around in the android's grasp, "we have to go back and rescue her. We can't just _leave_ her down there."

Vision doesn't say anything until they reach the surface a few moments later. "It will be a more efficient search if all of us are searching. We must inform the others first."

Steve, Wanda, Sam, and Rhodey are gathered just in front of the still-standing main building. The other two buildings collapsed in the explosion and much of the fence lies twisted and on its side. Cracks and fractures mare the frozen ground, marks of the explosion. The underground structures were woven deep below the surface in many layers that crossed over each other. Now Natasha is trapped somewhere below them. Trapped with a host of genetically manipulated giant rats.

Astraea leaps to her feet as soon as Vision lets her go. Without thinking, she charges straight in the direction of the other team members, almost colliding with Sam and Wanda. Her chest heaves as she catches her breath, cheeks red from exertion.

"Natasha's … she's stuck down there … we've gotta go and … and get her." Her words come out in stops and starts as she pants, bending over slightly to press her palms against her knees.

"She's … down there?" Steve asks, with horror on the parts of his face visible beneath his mask. "We heard the comms message though, about it being safe."

Astraea shakes her head, struggling to come up with the words to explain it. "We were still there when the first explosion went off. Viz was about to lead us out an' all but … Nat was trying to stop you from … from doing another." She looks up now, nibbling on her bottom lip. "The comms … they weren't working, not properly."

Vision takes over in his polite bulteresque tones. "I believe some sort of interference occurred whilst we were underground. Perhaps the sediment was causing it or simply our depth underground. Your messages came through somewhat garbled; ours must have been the same."

"That doesn't matter now. We have to rescue Natasha." Astraea tightens her hands into fists, a fierceness coating her face.

"We cannot use the hatches in the main building to locate Natasha," Vision states, seemingly calm as always. "The tunnels there are too damaged and many appeared blocked when I scanned the complex. Our best bet would be to locate a way through the destroyed sections of the complex and infiltrate from that direction."

"Thanks for that Vision. And we _will_ rescue Natasha," Steve says with conviction. "Vision, see if you can trace Natasha's comm. If we can get a rough location it'll make things a lot easier. Either way," he looks over at the large debris-filled crater, "we'll have a lot of lifting to do."

 **oOo**

As soon as the roof starts to collapse on them, Natasha leaps out of the way, backwards. The wrong seemingly, because now she's stuck behind a mountain of rocky chunks and boulders. Dust floods the tunnel and she coughs. Her hands waft in front her, dispelling the cloud of dust around her. She can breathe, for now.

Somewhere behind the wall are Vision and Astraea. The most recent explosion is still rocking the whole place, threatening to try apart even more of the caving system. Natasha knows the others have to get out and leave her to do so. The teen won't like it, she thinks with a wry smile, she doesn't seem to like leaving people behind. But there's no choice here and Natasha has to hope Vision will listen if she orders him to take Astraea and flee. Better two survive than none at all.

In front of her, the rocky pile starts to shift slightly as though someone is moving the rocks. No doubt it's Astraea, pitting to use her stubbornness. But Natasha can't let her stay and try to rescue her. Nemesis and Vision have to leave and taking the time to move a mountain of rocks and free Natasha will slow them down, even if it doesn't leave them trapped too. She has to send them on their way, and she has to be as calm and poised as always.

"Go! I'll be fine … there are other exits I can try. You've gotta get out of here," she calls out, her voice unwavering and focused. Natasha is used to hiding any faint touches of fear she might have and now is no different. She doesn't fear being trapped, only that it might trap others alongside.

"No! We can get you out. I just need a little time. Just … let me try!" Astraea sounds fierce and desperate, struggling to stay composed.

Even though no one is there to see her, Natasha shakes her head. "Vision, take her out." There's a sharp crack as more rocks come tumbling down. She has to move even further backwards, any more words she might have said lost in the resulting noise. "Go!"

There's no reply after that and Natasha has to hope Vision has done as she asked. Now that her charges are gone she can focus on herself and her situation. First things first, take stock of her supplies. All her weapons are functional, but the comms unit still seems to be having problems. Natasha can only catch vague words of conversation between Wanda, Steve, Sam, and Rhodey. It sounds as though they've finished the explosions for now. A blessing at last.

But then there's the possibility of running into any surviving guards or rat creatures. The guards she can deal with, the rats? Maybe not. Her best chance is to find the easiest way out and for that, she'll need a map. An area in which she is currently lacking. Not for the last time, Natasha curses the lack of intel. If they had known about the underground areas … well, there's no time to dwell on that now. When she gets out of this she'll have a good chat with the intelligence officers. Until then, she has a tunnel to navigate.

 **oOo**

The first five passageways Natasha tries are all blocked at some stage or another. That only leaves going back towards the largest room in this sector – the one she and her companions had seen filled with cages. Cages containing giant rats with tucks and stings. Brilliant. But it's her only hope and only choice. From there she should be able to find another way back to a computer and a map or find a hatch leading to the surface.

Her footsteps echo quietly in the empty passages, resonating of the stone floors and walls. Harsh white lights cast strange shadows on her face and make her appear drained and pale. Natasha's Widow Bite bracelets pulse electric blue as the current runs through them. There's no one else around: no scientists, guards, or workers. The heavy sound of silence is all around her, accompanied only by the rush of water and her quiet steps.

Water. The noise makes her pause, straining to listen, to pinpoint the sound. There's certainly a louder noise than she'd heard before. If Astraea were here she could use her super ears and tell Natasha, but the teenager isn't with her. Natasha is alone with only her skills and abilities to draw upon. They have always been enough before and will be enough now.

She presses on through the artificially lit tunnels, now only a few feet from her goal. A huge cave lies just beyond the archway, yawning into the darkness like the huge mouth of a whale shark. That's where she finds the first body – bloated and drenched – sitting on the rough ground. The young man has drowned by all appearances. Drowned in an underground cave. Natasha examines the ground around him, seeing it darkened and wet. A slow trickle of water is seemingly coming from the far exit, where it gushes from a crack in the wall. She steps back from it, green eyes scanning for another way out.

Natasha lets loose a string of curses in seven different languages. If the caves are flooding she has less time than she thought. Now she's trapped in caves that are half-collapsed and filling with water. She could drown, suffocate, be crushed to death, or be killed by the creatures running loose around her. Time is running out for her.

 **oOo**

Upon the surface, the remaining Avengers have begun shifting the rubble within the crater left by the explosions. Steve's made the assessment that Natasha will be able to leave either by finding her way to the hatches or the team carving a way to her position. Time is pressing, however, and they've got a mighty pile of rocks to shift without any real equipment to deal with it.

Which, as it turns out, is were having a magical young woman and a super humanoid android is amazingly useful. As Steve, Sam, Rhodey, and Astraea work at physically lifting the rocks, Wanda holds the shifting piles steady and lifts larger chunks when necessary. Vision puts the Mind Stone to use, blasting massive pieces of rock and debris into smaller chunks and lifting many pieces clear of the crater. It's difficult work to do, but they have to keep going. One of their own is trapped, and the Avengers won't leave a team member behind. A family member.

The minutes pass both agonisingly slow and far too fast. It's all Astraea can do to not keep nagging for information and how far they've gotten. The team, for the most part, are working in silence with only the odd word to punctuate the stillness of the day. They're too focused on their task to stop and natter. Natasha's life is at stake and in more ways than one.

 **oOo**

Natasha bites back a groan of frustration as she reaches yet another dead end. The tunnels are leading her nowhere and the rising water is certainly a problem. As she returns to the main cave for the fifth time (to try the last remaining exit) her booted feet are wading through 8 inches of water. Which doesn't sound like much, but she's only been gone for 10 minutes. If the water starts coming any faster she's going to have an even greater problem.

But Natasha can't dwell on that now. The sounds of large feet have been creeping closer and she doesn't need enhanced hearing to know what that means. Either by random chance or systematic searching, the mutated creatures are closing in on her. She has to get out quickly and there's only one option left for that.

Ripples trail in her wake as Natasha splashes her way toward the last remaining tunnel. If this one is blocked … She shakes her head, no. She can't afford to think about what will happen if this next tunnel is another dead end. Although her mind is already thinking up three backup plans, Natasha is keeping her main focus on the problem in front of her. That's the only way for her to get out of this mess.

Taking a deep breath and holding her head high, she steps through the archway. Determined to escape. Natasha quickens her pace, following the tunnel around a bend. Onwards and onwards it stretches, seemingly forever. But then she makes another discovery that's much worse than the last.

Bodies. Slashed and mutilated with limbs removed and chests cracked open. Streaks of blood coat the walls and turn the swirling water at her ankles a bright red. Natasha moves forwards, one land straying towards one of her handguns. Something killed these guards – something with teeth, claws, and tusks. It has to have been the mutant rats, Natasha decides, worry in her heart. Just her luck to have her only path blocked by a pack of giant baby rats. Just great.

As she risks a glance around the entrance way, Natasha is relieved to see there are only three creatures lurking with the room. Hopefully, she can take out at least one before the creatures notice her presence. An objective in mind, Natasha pulls her guns to make the first shot.

Her shots are rapid and precise. The first bullet slams straight through one of the beasts' skull. It slumps down: dead. Natasha fires at the next creature. It charges towards her and the bullet skims its' shoulder. She flips out of the way. Her next bullet finds its' chest and another bullet thumps straight between its eyes. The final creature roars at her, anger in its' enormous eyes. Natasha takes aim, but the beast's sting sweeps out. She rolls to the side, cursing. The creature's head turns to her and she leaps aside.

But not fast enough. The warm sensation of blood pours from a wound on her lower left leg. A bite mark. Natasha takes a few seconds to process the injury. Then she has to roll aside again, dodging the fearsome tusks protruding from the giant rat's mouth. Natasha grits her teeth from the pain, wobbling to a standing position against the wall. Gun in hand, she fires as the creature turns its' horrific face towards her. Bang. The bullet flies true and the beast tumbles down, dead.

Natasha leans against the wall for a moment, willing to take a breather now that she's alone. The bite wound on her leg stings and burns. There's a handful of medical supplies in a pouch on her belt, but not really enough to deal with large injuries. That said, she does have a roll or two of gauze and a couple of bandages. Natasha fishes one of the latter out and pulls up her trouser leg to secure it around the wound. That's one problem taken care of for the moment at least.

A snuffling noise makes Natasha stand straighter, eyes flicking from tunnel to tunnel. Her gunshot noises echoed in the chamber and now the rest of those creatures know exactly where she is. Not only that, but they might pick up on the scent of her blood. A ripple of panic runs through Natasha. She's injured, trapped, and in danger of being torn apart. Not exactly ideal circumstances. But she's Natasha Romanoff, Black Widow and Avenger. Her fear won't control her. She smiles under the harsh lights. More risks mean a Natasha who is more determined to beat them. To defy the odds. Maybe the odds are stacking against but she is Natasha Romanoff. Her smile widens, almost feral. Let them come, she decides, she'll be long gone before they can even think about following her.

Natasha steps into the tunnel to the left of her. It's time to finish the game.

 **oOo**

Astraea wants to scream in frustration. She wants to let loose her anger and rip the idiots who decided to make mutated rats in an underground base apart. But those people are likely buried, dead, or both right now. So, she settles for slamming her gloved fist into a sheet of scuffed metal the team recently uncovered. There is a loud clang and a slight dent in the metal, a mark of her enhanced strength.

They've been digging for almost 40 minutes now and are seemingly still no closer to finding Natasha. The failure is starting to grate on all of them but Steve keeps reminding them to keep going. The team had a short break ten minutes ago, but all the Avengers are focused on locating their missing teammate. Natasha won't be left behind, no matter what.

For the moment, however, Astraea is working alongside Wanda. The pair of them have formed quite a bond, being the two younger females on the team. Just like with Madison, Astraea feels as though Wanda is like a sister to her.

"Ugh … my hands are going to murder me after all this digging," Astraea complains, fingering her glove absently.

"Don't worry, mali mač, I'll sure you'll live," Wanda chuckles as she employs the nickname her brother gave to Astraea. Her brown eyes are tinged with red from using of her powers.

"If you say so, alaya sestra." Astraea flashes Wanda a quick smile, earning a returning grin from the other teen. "The sooner we get Natasha out, the sooner we can all be safe. And able to wrap this up," she adds in a slightly lighter tone. Getting bogged down with guilt and worry won't help her or Natasha at the moment. She can leave the crash of emotions until later when everyone is safe and at home.

The team dig on. Slowly but surely the Avengers are managing to make their way deeper and deeper into the crater. They surely can't be far from finding Natasha now, Astraea thinks, surely, they're almost there. The whole team is exhausted but they won't give up. The only thing is they're lacking the energy to keep going for too much longer.

Then Vision discovers what looks to be a shiny, chrome ventilation shaft. Astraea and Wanda spot it first and go clambering over the rocks to reach it. The two young women glance at each other, excitement and relief dancing in their brown eyes. This shaft could be the key to locating Natasha.

As Vision waves the others over Astraea pulls the grate off, sticking her upper body into the shaft. If she can focus, there's a chance she might be able to hear Natasha, somewhere within the caves. But even if Natasha is out of her range, at least the team know that there are ways for Natasha to climb out of the tunnels. The main hatches could be impossible to get to, but if there is one ventilation shaft, there could be a whole lot more. Another system of tunnels for the trapped spy to use.

"Guys, I think I can, " Astraea wiggles out of the tunnel, eyes blinking at the sudden burst of sunlight, "hear something down there. It sounds like a bunch of large feet stomping all over the place, which, obviously, isn't Natasha." That earns a few tired smiles. "But I don't think I'd be able to hear Nat anyways. She walks too quiet and she's probably too far away. I'll try again though," she adds, face set with purpose.

So, she tries again. Astraea squirms back into the ventilation shaft. It's relatively narrow; clearly not designed for superheroes to crawl inside. She's certain that Natasha, Wanda, and herself could all fit in the tunnel, however. The men probably not, and definitely not Steve with his wide shoulders. If anyone has to go down there and get Natasha, it'll be Astraea and Wanda. Sam and Rhodey could maybe fit without the suits, and Vision would be able to use his walking-through-walls trick.

This time, Astraea has climbed almost completely into the tunnel. Beyond about a metre of flat, it starts to gently slope downwards. It seems possible to crawl up and Astraea has to hope it is. While not meant as another means of escape, the shafts certainly would need to be big enough to get enough fresh air into the tunnels. But vent won't be enough, so there must be more nearby. At least that gives Natasha a few possible ways to escape.

Then the faint echoing sound of a gunshot rockets into her ears and Astraea bashes her head on the roof of the tunnel in her haste to climb out.

"I heard a gunshot," she says, urgent, thrilled, and worried all at once. It could have easily been Natasha shooting something (one of the creatures, perhaps), or it may have been some surviving staff members. It would be silly to think all the compound staff members would have died in the explosions, so it stands to reason that some of them must still be done there. Either trying to escape, fighting Natasha or fighting their own creatures. There's a mixed response when Astraea expresses this.

"I'll say it was Widow." Sam opts to vote confidence in one of the first two Avengers he ever met. "She's probably doing all the hard work done there for us by exterminating those rat monsters."

"But it could the workers of this place," Rhodey argues. "There's no reason for us to think none of them survived and we know they are armed. It could be a firefight between Natasha and the workers, or the workers and the creatures, or Natasha and the creatures. We just don't know."

Wanda folds her arms, glaring at the arguing team members as if they are naughty children. "Whatever the answer, we are losing time here. The faster we go, the faster we find out the truth."

"Wanda's right," Steve interjects, placing a placating hand on both Sam and Rhodey's shoulders. "There's no point in arguing up here when Natasha is still trapped down there. She's counting on us to help get her out faster. The more time we waste standing around, the more likely it is for something to happen to her. Let's get back to it."

The team nods their heads, turning back to their work. For the moment, they'll see about discovering more shafts and seeing if they can find any sort of entrance. Their focus is restored to the task idea. But now there's an added worry, gnawing at the minds of all the Avengers. Just how much longer do they have to rescue their lost friend?

 **oOo**

Natasha is nearly at her wit's end. The caves and tunnels seemingly end up nowhere at all. She's searched all the available passages nearby and none of them has yielded any positive results. Half of them are blocked or starting to flood with water. There are some giant rats probably closing in her position and now she's injured to boot. Nothing is exactly screaming that this is the most amazing experience anyone could wish for.

The bite is starting to ache again so Natasha leans against the nearest wall, sinking down until she's sat on the ground. She slumps against the smooth … wait, smooth?! Natasha spins around, touching the wall with both hands. All the other walls she's touched have been rough, coarse, and typical of a rocky wall. This, however, feels more synthetic. It has to be, to be this smooth.

"So, what's hiding behind you then?" Natasha murmurs out loud, pushing against the section of the wall.

Slowly the smooth part of the wall begins to move backwards and swings to one side with a dull thump. Natasha steps inside cautiously; the room is dim with only the lights in the main chamber to brighten it. Her hand reaches across the wall, unconsciously searching for a light switch. After a few moments of searching, she locates it. As typical with the whole underground system, the room is lit up with harsh white light. The room itself seems to be rather a narrow tunnel, not a room, that leads further into the rock. At first glance, it seems to be unblocked, which is the best news Natasha has had for a while.

Then she spots the map on the wall and almost cries out in joy. It shows the main tunnel systems as well as ventilation shafts (marked in red lines) and maintenance tunnels (marked in orange lines). Natasha has managed to locate, quite by accident, a maintenance tunnel leading to the opposite end of the compound where she, Astraea, and Vision entered. Several orange lines branch off it, alongside a few blue lines. That's good news. It seems she'll have several roots. Natasha rips the post map from the wall, rolling it up and sticking it through her belt. She'll be keeping this for the future.

The pounding of large feet makes her elation short-lived, however. Natasha pokes her head out of the door to see a pack of rate creatures scurrying down two of the tunnels. She scrambles backwards and pushes the door shut with the handle on the inside. Perhaps the artificial door will hold them for a while whilst she runs. Natasha can hope so, at least.

With not a moment to lose, Natasha takes off down the tunnel, moving as fast as she can with her wounded leg. Behind her, the door shakes as the creatures launch themselves at it. Praying that the door will hold a little longer, Natasha runs faster. She won't let herself be killed by such creatures.

She gets 150 metres when the door splinters behind her. Natasha half-turns her head and glimpses snapping jaws pushing through the gap. She takes a deep breath, steeling herself against the fear threatening to bubble up inside her. Natasha won't allow herself to be afraid, won't allow the fear to send her spiralling out of control and into a panic. It's time to think her way out of this problem.

There are only a few things to take into consideration. Natasha knows she can't outrun them, and she can't kill them all either – the problem of having only limited ammo. It would be useless to try and hide down a side tunnel; in all likelihood, the creatures would merely sniff her out and locate her with ease. That's not an option. Which leaves trying to find an alternative route, one that the rats won't be able to follow her down.

Natasha seizes the map at her waist, unfurling it as best possible whilst on the move. There's a ventilation shaft only a few metres away. If she can get to that shaft and crawl inside she might be able to escape. The map shows the vents reaching the surface, after all. It's just a question of whether or not she'll fit inside.

The rats are even closer now. Natasha can smell the blood on their breath which is rancid and foul. She turns a corner, ducking behind an outcrop of stone. The vent grate is just behind her, about hip height. She tugs at the metal grate, attempting to pull it off. Heavy footsteps come closer. Rats. Natasha swears loudly and manages to pull the grate off just as the first rat rounds the corner. She scrambles inside, crawling as fast she can. The rat shoves its face into the gap, struggling to fit its jaw inside. Natasha stops moving and breaths a sigh of relief. At least she should be safe from here on in. The giant rats can't follow her anymore and she has a map.

Smiling to herself, Natasha turns her face away from the rat and starts crawling up the tunnel. If she follows the gentle slope of this one up to the surface she should make it out near where the explosions occurred. Hopefully, her teammates will have cleared that area out by now. If she knows her team – something Natasha is sure she does, despite having only been on a few missions with them – they will have been searching for a way to rescue her. Now it seems all they have to do is meet halfway.

 **oOo**

It's the slight banging noise that first indicates to the Avengers that Natasha has just about reached the surface. Rhodey hears it first, being the closest to where it happens. He calls them over, excited and intrigued.

Wanda lifts the boulder covering the site of the noise, arms shaking slightly. The enhanced teen has been exerting her powers for nearly an hour non-stop and it's begun to show its effects. With a groan of effort, Wanda throws the rock aside and reveals another ventilation shaft.

As Rhodey bends down to pull the grate free, Astraea catches a glimpse of fiery red hair. She smiles, glad to see that it must be Natasha at least. For all their efforts, it seems that Natasha managed to save herself. But even she needed the team's help for the last step.

"Hey guys, mind if I drop in?" Natasha asks, crawling to her feet among the rubble. "Sorry if I'm a bit late."

That one sentence has everyone both laughing and almost crying at the same time. Steve steps over first, mouth open to welcome her back. But words seemingly fail him and he simple wraps Natasha into a hug. Her eyebrows raise slightly as he does so – the only outward sign of her surprise. Steve's hug acts as a signal for the rest of the team, who swarm Natasha. They've got their friend and teammate back, and there's only one way for the team to show their happiness. The Russian spy finds herself wrapped into a many-armed hug from all her team, her family.

Astraea catches a glimpse of the older female's face as the Avengers stand embracing each other in relief. She's always had the impression that Natasha isn't always the type of person to allow much physical contact, especially if she's not sure of the person. But this time, there's a smile on her face. This time, Natasha is glad of the sudden affection, it seems. This time, she'll allow a group hug from her family.

* * *

 **Well there we have it - a happy ending and hugs all around. Next week, we'll have a bit more of a lax chapter. No missions in the next chapter, just fluff and new friends.**

 **As in Nemesis, I have used Serbian as a stand-in language for Sokovian and Google: Translate for all the Russian and Serbian words in this chapter. I apologise in any of the words or phareses are incorrect. I don't speak either of these languages, so i'm liable to make a mess of them.**

 **Serbian:**

mali mač - _little sword_

 **Russian:**

alaya sestra - scarlet sister

 **Thank you for reading. Stay tuned for the next chapter next week.**

 **Look-for-the-miracles**

 **P.s. Just remembered, I will be on holiday for the next three update times and without my laptop. Never fear, however, as I do have some chapters written up on here. I'll just have to refine and add author's notes and then I'll be good to post. Hopefully, I'll be able to post them on Fridays but the internet may be elusive. If so, I'll try and get them up as soon as possible.**


	5. Petty troubles

**Hiya, it's me again! Back for another chapter in this little collection. I'm not sure how many chapters I'll be doing for this, but there'll be at least 10. I might even come back and add to it at times. Y'know, for whenever I've had a good idea for a little piece to write.**

 **Anyways, I'm currently uploading this whilst on holiday, driving to Scotland. I've got data to upload at the moment but there's no telling how long I'll have it for.**

 **As always, I own nothing belonging to Marvel.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

Petty troubles

* * *

"Maddie," Sam starts, looking at her in disbelief, "is that thing supposed to be a dog? Or is it just a pile of rags you found in the street somewhere?"

Madison pauses, arms wrapped out a thin, mangy creature with matted, sandy brown fur and a waggy tail. "Of course, it's a dog!" She cries, indignant. "I found him sulking around the outside of the western fence. I couldn't just leave him out there to die. Besides, I thought we could all do with a four-legged friend."

Sam sighs softly. "Then perhaps we should clean up first before you let him all over Tony's fancy couches. Use the wet room next to the gym; space enough to wash him with a few helpers."

She nods. "Was that you volunteering to help?" An impish grin forms on her face.

"Go!" Sam flaps a hand at her and takes a sip from his coffee mug. "Get that thing clean. See if you can con Rhea into helping you. Goodness knows she's been going on about getting a team pet for the last month."

With an evil grin on her face, Madison stalks off in search of her best friend, leaving through the door towards the main building. Now all she had to do is decide on a name for their new mascot. A regular one, or perhaps one more superhero-themed?

 **oOo**

A riot of giggles rises through the wet room door, left slightly ajar to allow a little fresh air into the warm room. Natasha stops on her way out of the gym, cocking her head slightly as the giggles and splashing noises persist. She steps closer, peering through the open door with bright green eyes. Inside is a sight she didn't expect. Wanda, Madison, and Astraea are all standing around a sopping wet mutt with soap bubbles all over its matted fur. The dog (if it could be called that) shakes, showering them all in water and bubbles causing the girls to start laughing again.

Madison stands to turn the shower head back on again and catches sight of Natasha peeping through the doorway. "Natasha!" She cries, finally comfortable with calling the infamous Black Widow by her first name. "Care to help? It's all-hands-on-deck at the mo' but we'll need someone skilled with scissors to get these tangles cut off."

"And you thought of me? How kind," Natasha laughs, shaking red curls from her face. "I'll be happy to help, once the creature's clean, though. Don't tell me you went ferreting about the streets from it."

"Nah. Didn't even have to leave the base."

"See?" Astraea adds, a shit-eating grin on her face. "Told Y'all we need a team pet, and then one arrives at base. It's perfect."

That starts Natasha's mind working. "Coincidence, or perhaps a plot to get into the base?"

"What?" The girls turn their attention from the dog to straight up stare at her.

"Come on, after all the things we've seen I wouldn't put it past the possibility for there to be a shape-shifter that can turn into a dog. I mean, we had giant mutant creatures only two weeks ago. Let's not rule out the possibility."

Madison, Wanda, and Astraea shudder. That had been a particularly hard mission, but not quite as awful as the crazy panic to find Natasha, trapped in the tunnels below the complex with a horde of mutant giant, baby rats snuffling after her. Natasha had clambered her way out through a narrow maintenance tunnel and then crawled through a vent to the surface, all the while bleeding from a bite on her lower left leg. The team had been about to tear up the whole complex to find her if they had to when she'd banged on the covered vent grate for them to let her out. Wanda had lifted the rock blocking the entrance out of the way and Natasha stumbled out, covered in dust and specks of blood. It had been a quick stitching up of her wound in the field before the Avenger was whisked back to the base. Her stitches had only come out a few days ago, so Natasha was still a little sore when moving. Hence her short gym session.

After biding the trio goodbyes, Natasha ambles into the common room. Perhaps there will still be a few of those muffins Steve had made two days ago. Perfect for a sit-down and afternoon reading session.

 **oOo**

"I think we should call him Terminator. Termie for short," Madison insists, running a hand through the dog's newly cut and brushed fur absently.

"Absolutely not. He's such a cutie pie and not a terminator at all, are you sweetie?" Wanda murmurs, fondling his floppy ears. They haven't yet decided what breed of dog they think he is, but Astraea is pretty sure he's some sort of spaniel. "How about pas?"

"Pas? Is that a Sokovian word?"

Wanda giggles, clamping a hand to her mouth as she bends over, unable to suppress her mirth. "It means dog."

The others burst into laughter too.

"I suppose it's accurate." Astraea manages between snorts of laughter. "Though how about sobaka instead? It's a little longer."

"If that's Russian or Spanish or something for dog I swear I'm going to – " Madison starts, before Steve, Sam, and Rhodey stroll into the room.

"What on earth is going on here?" Steve asks, casting a worried eye at the trio of girls collapsed on the floor, giggling and laughing as though it's the only thing they know how to do.

"I just … " Wanda tries to speak but another fit of giggles overtake her. "Pas and sobaka." She chokes out eventually.

The men exchange confused looks that get even more bewildered as the four-legged mascot pops his head out from around Astraea's side, watching the new humans quizzically.

"Why do you have a dog?" Rhodey says, pointing at the hound as if he can't believe his eyes. "Where did you get it from? How did you get it?"

Wanda, Madison, and Astraea exchange a quick look. Perhaps it would be better just to type a quick explanation and hand it to anyone who asks how and why they have a dog following them around the place. Much easier than having to explain it to everyone they meet.

"Just by the eastern fence. Brough him over, gave him a bath and Natasha gave him a haircut. Then here we are." Madison gives the abbreviated explanation before turning back to her friends. "What about Hunter?"

Wanda and Astraea give the waggy dog a critical look. "Not sure," says Wanda.

"Did you get that off a list of popular dog names?" Astraea questions, raising one eyebrow.

"No. Well, maybe. How about Max, or Wolf or something?"

Astraea looks thoughtful. "I've always wanted to call a dog Scamp. Never got the chance though. Did have a cat called Sauron. He was a black cat with yellow-orange eyes and a One Ring collar."

"I dunno if he suits Scamp." Madison tilts her head. "But I do like the _Lord of the Rings_ theme. Legolas, perhaps?"

"I think he'd have to be a bit more golden haired for that," Steve adds, reaching a hand out to allow the sandy brown-haired spaniel to snuffle him.

"Right. Maybe a more hobbit-y name. Pippin?" Astraea says, gaze flicking around to look at her fellow team members. "Then we already have one nickname for him – Pip."

"Are we settled on Pippin?" Madison asks, getting a shower of nods and calls of agreement. "Great! Welcome home, Pippin. Official mascot of the Avengers."

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

The pitiful meowing is what first brought Astraea's attention to the small kitten, hiding behind a pile of half-collapsed cardboard boxes. She'd wandered down the street to find her way to her favourite bakery to bring the Avengers family back some treats after spending the afternoon with some friends from her university classes. The boxes of pastries are secure in her backpack as she pauses, head tilting to focus on the sound. A few feet away sits the kitten, looking to be only a few months old and thoroughly filthy and bedraggled. Astraea crouches down and holds a hand out to it, coaxing it over. The kitten creeps over and she gives it a tickle with one hand, scanning the alley for any sign of the kitten's family. There is none.

She gives the white and grey-patched kitten a little look over, melting at the huge grey eyes that blink up at her sorrowfully.

"You are too cute for words and I'm gonna regret this but come here then," Astraea mutters and picks the tiny kitten up. "Guess you're coming home with me."

 **oOo**

When Astraea arrives at the Avengers' compound almost two hours later the common room the kitten has found a nice new nest in her hoodie pocket. The front pocket is weighed down heavily, and a small tail creeps out of one end. As Astraea walks through the doors the security staff give her odd looks, clearly confused by everything.

They must be new, Astraea thinks with an inward smile. Most of the others seem to have gotten used to the crazy antics of the Avengers and co. That said, even her own teammates still managed to perform crazy feats that shocked her. Namely, Madison managing to find a spaniel near the base. Pippin had fast become the Avengers' mascot, always waiting for them to come home from missions with a waggy tail and wet kisses. Much as most of the team had initially rejected having a dog, Astraea knows they wouldn't have it any other way.

But now she's bringing another friend home, hopefully, one that'll get along with Pip. Plus, Astraea knows Madison has always wanted a cat so maybe the little kitten will serve as an additional if late, birthday present. For Madison's nineteenth birthday, Astraea had gotten her best friend an autographed poster of _Return of the Jedi_ but an extra present will always go down well.

With that in mind, Astraea tucks the kitten's tail further into her pocket with one hand and pushes open the door to the common room with the other. A faint, contented purring sounds from within her pocket. She smiles, resisting the urge to just cuddle the kitten herself and not show the others just yet.

The common room is busy when she returns, with only Sam and Rhodey missing. Astraea heads to the kitchen and swings her backpack off her shoulders, starting to unload the boxes of pastries. At least she's managed to get something she was supposed to, even if she ended up finding something else she _wasn't_ supposed to collect.

"Hiya guys, I'm back!" she says, unnecessarily, joining Wanda and Madison on the nearest corner sofa. "Did you miss me?" Her mouth curves upwards into a cheeky grin.

"Uh, what? Did you go out, Rhea?" Madison asks, playful disbelief on her face. "I didn't notice."

"Oi!" She reaches across Wanda to tap Madison lightly on the arm. "I brought back food."

"Fair enough," Madison relents, a twinkle in her eyes. "Maybe I do remember missing you after all."

"Hmm … maybe I'll let you have a cake then if you stay nice."

They lapse into silence, absorbed in watching the screen. Natasha has been recording numerous house renovation shows for the past month, but never able to find the time to watch them. Now that the Avengers have finally got a guaranteed three-day break, she's become dedicated to watching as many as possible. The episode they're currently watching features an old water mill, broken down and derelict, and a couple determined to turn it into their dream home.

"Astraea … " Wanda starts, drawing out her name to length the sound, "why is your hoodie _wiggling_?"

Astraea looks down at her jumper, which is indeed squirming about of its own accord. "Uh … I have a very good explanation for this if you just let me think of it." A tinge of panic lights her brown eyes.

Then a small fluffy head pops out her pocket and meows pitifully. Wanda looks startled and shrieks out of shock before reaching out to tickle the kitten's head. The others look over to see Astraea handing the grey and white kitten to Wanda's waiting hands. The other girl coos at the kitten, letting it nestle down on her red oversized jumper.

"This little one looks just like our mehuriće," Wanda says softly, smiling at the kitten purrs and snuggles closer against her. "She was our cat in Sokovia," she explains, "or at least she was our favourite wandering street cat. I think she was what you can a stray cat but she sometimes let us stroke her. We had a lot of stray cats and dogs in Sokovia."

There's a sadness behind her words, and it's easy to see what Wanda's thinking. Maybe they won't be so many strays any more. Not after a good portion of the city was destroyed in the Ultron incident. Those animals are among the many innocents who had to pay for Ultron's desires.

"Hey," Astraea says, trying to think of a way to comfort her friend and teammate, "maybe this kitty can be called mehuriće too." She originally planned to give the kitten to Madison, but maybe this is where the feline is needed more.

"We haven't even decided to keep the kitten yet," Vision starts to explain before cutting his own talking off. The glares from Madison, Steve, and Natasha are apparently fierce enough to stop the android right in his tracks. He takes a different angle. "Well, perhaps Pippin will enjoy having a new friend."

Steve asks FRIDAY to ring Sam and Rhodey, who apparently had taken Pippin out on their jog, and return with Pippin as soon as possible. The men saunter into the kitchen only five minutes later, waggy dog following behind them.

"We were already nearly back," Sam explains after Natasha questions their faster-than-usual arrival. "What's the emergency?"

Wanda holds up the kitten. "We have a new friend for Pippin. She's called mehuriće but perhaps you will find it easier to call her the English word, Bubbles."

As both Sam and Rhodey exchange looks of surprise, Pippin wanders over to his new furry companion. After a few moments of sniffing each other, the spaniel sits down in front of Wanda, looking up at Bubbles. Everyone watches the interaction nervously; dogs don't always get on with cats, but it seems like this pair are ready to be friends with each other.

"Well," Rhodey remarks, seating himself in the nearest empty chair, "it looks like we've got two mascots now."

* * *

 **There we are - a combination of two little fics about furry friends for you. Now we've got two fluffy friends to keep popping up in future chapters. Well, probably not ones that involve missions but you never know.**

 **Translations -**

 **Serbian:**

Pas - _dog_

mehuriće - _bubbles_

 **Russian:**

Sobbka - _dog_

 **Thank you for reading. I hope you've enjoyed this little chapter. Next time, we'll be heading back toward something with a little action. I'm trying to keep a balance of action-based chapters and ones like this. Hopefully, it's working out okay.**

 **Until next Friday,**

 **Look-for-the-miracles**


	6. Will and wits

**Hello again my wonderful readers! It's chapter time once more.**

 **I was planning on uploading this chapter a little earlier, but we got stuck in the Highlands with no internet or data connection after a crash on the road we were on. Unfortunately, it would've been 5 hours additional driving to get around in either direction so we stayed and waited. It ended only being 3 hours which wasn't so bad. Hopefully the victims are okay, but I guess we'll never know.**

 **Also, I realise that I promised a more action basedbchapter, but I completely forgot that I had this one scheduled to be uploaded next. I guess there is some action and it is a mission chapter; there just isn't lots of action and stuff in it, perhaps.**

 **Anyways, I own nothing as per usual. Please enjoy.**

* * *

Will and wits

* * *

Astraea stares at the woman, her delicate finger poised above a button that could change the world forever. There's the cold fire in her eyes of someone's who has been through too much and seen too much but has never healed. She's never sought help for her problems, or she's never received it. Now the dark-haired woman, with streaks of silver-grey running through her hair, is holding the fate of the world in her hands. Astraea doesn't even know her name. And the scientist doesn't know hers.

But the two of them are thrown in the ring together; a battle of will and wits.

The woman, a scientist of some sort Astraea realises from her garb, is fixing Astraea with a steely grey gaze. Astraea stares back, helpless. One wrong move and several of the world's largest cities blow up. Along with millions of innocent people. Astraea has to keep the scientist busy; either until they can find and disarm the bombs or interrupt the link between them and the button. Either way, Astraea has to draw the woman away from the button and quickly.

"Don't come any closer, dearie," the woman half-sings, half-says. "I'd hate to slip and," her finger hovers closer towards the button, "have a little an accident. But you'll be a good girl won't you, dearie?"

Astraea nods quickly. Anything to diffuse the situation. "I wouldn't want you to have an accident, Miss, no. Perhaps we'll be safer away from … _that_."

A crazy smile lights her face. "Oh, a clever girl, aren't we? Got to stay away from the button. Can't let anything happen to that. Wouldn't want to damage anything. Wouldn't want to kill anyone. Let's talk then, dearie. You and me. I'm sure such a clever girl as you had worked out what I'm doing here."

She doesn't move.

"Sit!" The woman screeches, waving a knife in Astraea's general direction.

Astraea manages not to flinch, and slow walks over to the seating area. A worn brown sofa and a pair of mismatched plastic chairs sit around a low wooden table. On it sits a coffee mug and a photo of a young family; a couple and their three children.

"There we are. Much better, dearie. Now you'll be seated for the show and isn't that more comfortable? A better view for you. If you're good, I might just keep you around."

"After you blow up seven cities?" Astraea mutters, blunt. There's a chatter of voices in her ear but she ignores them. The other Avengers are dealing with sending the bomb locations to each country's respective government and infiltrating the rest of the base.

"Yes, yes. After that. After all the messy stuff. Then we'll be happy. After, after, after." She rings the last three words, settling down on the soft in front of Astraea. "I'll be happy and they won't be able to hurt me anymore. So, _I'll_ be happy at last. Happy, happy, happy. So happy."

Astraea fights the urge to leave the room. Clearly there's a problem here, something horrific has driven this woman to madness and rage. Now in her madness she'll burn the world just to feel the warmth again. "Will you be happy? When you've killed millions of innocents? When you've broken up families into shattered pieces and destroyed lives?" The woman just blinks silently at her and Astraea feels her anger growing. "If you press that button you aren't revenge on whoever it is that hurt you and your family. You're not taking a regime or a country or an organisation. You're burning people into dust and ash. You're killing without a cause, without care of consequence, without a heart."

She gestures to the screen showing live footage in the bomb-planted cities. People bustle around, going about busy lives, unaware of the danger. Then Astraea stands, heedless of the knife, dark eyes blazing in anger. "This doesn't make a point to anyone. To anyone at all! They, out there, don't know who you are. I'm standing here, and _I_ don't know who the fuck you are! Not the slightest clue. All I know is something bad happened to you and you're going to make the world pay. It won't make you feel any better. You'll just have blood on your hands and a lifetime in prison.

"It's not worth it. Not worth destroying millions of lives for the sake of your messed-up desire for happiness. I won't let you. Do you understand that? _I won't let you_!" She screams the last part, pent-up anger and despair and fear being released. "There is no victory for you today. No revenge, no nothing. You don't win, and they all remain blissfully unaware of the danger you put them in. Now you'll stay there and let me arrest you. I have no qualms with killing you if I have to."

Astraea hisses out the last sentence, hoping her bravado convinces the crazed scientist. She won't kill her unless it's the only choice left to her. Hopefully it won't be.

The scientist tilts her head and smiles again. "That was rousing, dearie. You make a lovely distraction for your team." Panic flickers across Astraea's face. "Oh yes, I know all about your little friends. Sulking around my base and trying to stop my perfect plan. Don't worry, I'm sure they can deal with the guard-dogs admirably. And then they'll come find you and find you with me. Then I'll press the button and the world will know you've failed them all. Won't that be wonderful, dearie?"

She moves towards the button, lazily and relaxed. Her knife twirls around in her hand. "This button is so precise, I can just throw my pretty little knife and it'll go off. Want to see?"

"No." Astraea gives a brief answer, scanning the room for weapons. The team insisted she came in virtually unarmed to make the villain relax more but that isn't very helpful at the moment. Her gaze flicks to the chairs and Astraea sighs before lifting one up. She hurls it at the scientist, knocking her unconscious as the plastic and metal chair smashes into her.

Quickly, Astraea moves everything away from the death button, dragging the woman into the hallway. "Threat is unconscious. I've locked the room," she says through her comms. There's no immediate reply.

After a few minutes, Natasha's voice filters through. "Copy, Nemesis. The target is unconscious, correct?"

"Yes. I … I didn't have any choice but to physically stop her. Are the bombs disabled?"

"Almost all. There's a little situation down here. We'll be up soon."

"Great." Astraea sits down on the tiled floor, beside the crazed woman, accidently bumping her own head against the wall as she does so. There's a gash across the woman's forehead that's bleeding heavily. Panic runs through Astraea, and she grabs some gauze from her small first aid pack at her belt. She hasn't had much first aid training, just enough to get by. Looking at the bleeding woman before her, Astraea wishes she'd had more.

The minutes slowly tick by as she applies pressure to the wound. Hopefully it's only a minor wound; head cuts, Astraea knows, can bleed heavily despite being minor. The training given by one of the on-site medical staff at the Avengers' compound including holding pressure for 15 minutes on a head wound, and for longer if it still hasn't stopped. At least Astraea can put that knowledge to work, but a few months ago Astraea wouldn't have even known how long to apply pressure for, let alone any of her new basic first knowledge.

After over 10 minutes of waiting, Sam rushes around the corner, wings tucked behind his back in the narrow corridor. Wanda follows close behind.

"What the hell happened to her?" Sam askes, seeing the blood marks on the floor and the scientist's face.

"I … I had to stop her from pressing the button," Astraea answers, evasive. Sam raises an eyebrow at her, asking for more information. "It may have involved throwing a chair at her."

"Damn," Sam whistles. "surprised it didn't cause more damage. Is she unconscious from blood loss or the chair?"

"The chair. Anyways, I think I've stopped the bleeding but we'll need a medical evac in any case. Couldn't call for one earlier 'cause my earpiece fell out. Bumped my head against the wall," she explains. "Is everything clear downstairs? I can't wait to get out of this damn place and go a fuck-ton of ice cream."

Sam chuckles at that. "It's clear. Cap and Widow are securing the enemy agents, and Vision's destroying the remote controls for the bombs."

"Uh … couldn't he have done that earlier?" Astraea complains, one hand still keeping the pressure as she leans further back against the wall.

"It would have been easier," Wanda agrees. "I think Black Widow said something about needing to make sure the bombs were disabled first."

"Yeah, there could've been a failsafe or something." Sam nods his head with her words. "Maybe to set them all off if the main controls were destroyed. So, the bombs had to go first."

There's a sudden explosion of people into the room as medical staff arrive. As they take the woman away on a stretcher Astraea feels a weight lifting from her shoulders. It had been hard, knowing that one misstep could have led to seven major cities across the world being blown up. Now it's over and she's done her job – Astraea can go home now and relax for a while.

Until the next disaster.

 **oOo**

"So the Avengers save the world again," Madison says, stuffing chunks of chocolate muffin into her mouth. "From the mad scientist who would blow up the world to prove a point. At least, that's how the newspapers tell it." She gives Astraea a pointed looked.

The tired superhero is sprawled across a sofa in the common room, leaning against Madison's side eating from a tub of strawberry ice cream. "That's true enough. But I think she was mad for a reason."

"Oh yeah?"

"Mmm … she was … unhinged, yeah, but I think she was sad too." Astraea spins around to sit up, tapping the spoon against the inside of the tub. "She just wanted to be happy, and thought, in her own misguided way, that that was the way to do it. Perhaps she'll get the help she needs now."

"Maybe. But they never mention her name in the stories. It's always just 'the scientist' or 'the woman' or 'the villain'. A little sad, don't ya think? Makes it seem like she wasn't a person really, just a comic book villain. A 2-D enemy."

"I didn't even know her name until after." Astraea shakes her head. "Anyways, it's over and done with now."

The girls sit in the silence, both slowly eating and not really watching the T.V in front of them.

"Irene Willis," Astraea blurts out. "Her name was Irene Willis."

Madison looks a little surprised but nods. "A name and a person, not just a villain."

"A person," Astraea agrees. "Doing something horrifically wrong but at least she can get help now. At least … perhaps she'll be happier in the future." A thought of Irene's crazed smile flickers across Astraea's mind.

Madison puts her muffin down, reaching across to bump Astraea with her shoulder like an over-friendly cat. "I'm glad I've got my best idiot to be happy with me."

"And I've glad I've got my best daft-y to be happy with." Astraea scoots across to lean against Madison again and the pair of them relax against each over. It's good, Astraea thinks, to have a family and friends to keep you relay on and be with. It's good to have a home.

* * *

 **There we have it. The whole chapter basically came from a bit of inspiration (I can't quite remember what) for Astraea's speech. I guess chapters do sometimes spring from small things and I've got another of mine based entirely on one phrase - which became the chapter title actually.**

 **Regardless, I hope you enjoyed it. Getting these chapters up whilst on holiday can be a little difficult but I'm managing okay.**

 **Thank you for reading.**

 **Look-for-the-miracles**


	7. Training Day

**Welcome back for another weekly chapter! I must confess, I actually almost got forgot to post this one today so... Well, I've finally remembered and the chapter was already written up on here at least. All I need to do is craft the author's note and post. Hence, I'm tapping away on my phone is bed at 11:23pm.**

 **Anyways, enough of all that. I've got a chapter with a few buts of everything mixed up for you all today. I hope you enjoy it.**

 **As always, I don't own Marvel.**

* * *

Training day

* * *

A part of the duties of an Avenger that Astraea didn't account for in the beginning is the training of the staff of the Avengers' compound. For that reason alone, Astraea has to drag herself awake at 6:00 a.m. to prepare for a training session. Sam will be with her as they train new recruits in some basic hand-to-hand combat. All staff at the compound are expected to be able to at least defend themselves against attack, even if they aren't security staff. Hence, the training and the early start.

FRIDAY wakes Astraea up as per her request, and 15 minutes later, she's dragging herself into the kitchen for an early breakfast. Steve is already in the kitchen, having a snack before his morning jog. He waves in greeting but Astraea just gives him an evil glare as she reaches for cereal.

"I still have no idea why you get up so early," Astraea mutters, filling a bowl with cornflakes. "Or how you manage to be so chipper. It's ridiculous."

Steve just laughs, and Sam enters the kitchen in a similarly wide-awake state as the super soldier. He calls a greeting to Astraea which she mumbles a response to.

"Maybe staying up and binge watching 'Star Wars' wasn't the best idea, Rhea," Sam chuckles, making mugs of coffee for him, Steve, and Astraea. "Not before a morning training session."

"This isn't morning. This is the period of time that pretends to be morning to trick you into waking up and leaves you tired all day." She scowls at Sam but a smile ghosts over her lips.

"That's just your pre-coffee logic talking."

"Nah, it's post-not-enough-sleep logic." Astraea rubs at her heavy eyes absently with one hand and accepts a mug of coffee with the other. "This is why you keep morning people around, to feed you and supply you with coffee in the hours of torture before morning begins."

The door swings open once more and Natasha saunters in, "Is that Astraea waxing nonsense about waking up early again? Maybe if we keep her awake long enough we can get her to make some viral tweets from it."

Astraea ignores the comment and continues munching on her cereal as the others laugh. The clock reads 6:30 a.m. and Astraea and Sam leave the kitchen together, heading towards the training room. Their session starts in an hour, but there's still many things to sort out for the training session. Including waking up a sleepy superhero enough to keep focus as they teach.

 **oOo**

Once the room is set up Astraea is half-ready to just lie down on one of the training mats, and half-ready to finally get some exercise done. She'd been a little lazy the past few days, so perhaps it's time to actually do something useful. Besides, Astraea can't actually abandon Sam to teach the trainees all by himself. It's far easier to do demonstrations with someone who knows what they're doing then it is on someone who doesn't. Plus, it's also nice to start the session with a small spar to show a taste of the skills the trainees will learn. Or, at least the skills that they hopefully learn.

The clock strikes 7:30 a.m. and the group pour in, dressed in an array of bright work out clothing. Everyone in this group is around 20 and from accounting, PR, and management roles within the compound. Most have nervous looks, though likely from the prospect of training and not the presence of two Avengers. Once you've seen Black Widow chasing a cream-covered Captain and Falcon around the gym, all armed with several cream pies, the awe at working for the Avengers quickly wears off.

Sam starts them off warming up and Astraea takes note of the different people as she stretches. There's Tana, Michael, Sophia, and Hunter from PR, all in bright orange clothing; Eleanor from accounting, with dark brown skin and a gorgeous mane of chestnut brown hair; Evan and Alex, twins, from management; and Bella, tall and tan, also from accounting. It's a small group of just eight people but it has long been decided that a smaller group makes for more efficient training. At least, that's what the people in charge choose.

"Right class, this is likely the first session you've had here. Don't expect to be able to take down six armed opponents by yourself after just an hour of self-defence." Sam gives a side-glance to Astraea. "We can't allow be super soldiers or enhanced warriors. It takes time and practice to get good at this stuff."

"We'll start by looking at points on the body that are weakest," Astraea starts, gesturing in a signal for FRIDAY to lower the screen showing an image of a body outline. "The groin, knees, eyes, nose, and mouth are all good targets to inflict injury on your opponent with minimal energy. Remember, you are trying to get away from this person and you have to disable them from following you. You have to hurt them or end up hurt or killed yourself. There is no time to be civil."

The trainees are all listening intently, nodding along to the words of the Avengers. Tana is fidgeting with her wristband, but excitement glimmers in her grey eyes. Others however, like Michael seem to have gotten more nervous. Perhaps the prospect of what needs to done is frightening to some, but Astraea sees it as necessary. Maybe that's just a product of the lifestyle she leads and the job she has or something else as well. Either way, she's likely hardened her heart to the need to fight long ago. An uncomfortable thought, but probably the truth – Astraea was facing violence long before the Avengers' picked her up.

"Pair up and show us how you think you'd go about tackling an opponent. Rhea and I will correct you as we go. Fighting form is important to make an instinct, when you're – " The rest of Sam's words are cut off by a blaring alarm.

The two Avengers drop into defensive positions and draw weapons: the alarm is the one signalling intruders to the base. Behind them, the trainees group together, muttering. Doors slam shut around them and blinds draw over the windows, security measures activated by the alarm. In the harsh white light of the emergency lights, everyone looks ghostly and drawn with worry. Vague sounds of hurrying feet echo outside the gym and the alarm goes on.

Then the bomb explodes and the group are thrown back.

 **oOo**

When Astraea wakes a group of black-clad men and women are standing around the class, armed with a variety of guns and knives. Sam has a few cuts on his arms but seems otherwise unharmed. Both Alex and Eleanor are unconsciousness, lying back on the floor limply. The intruders mutter among each other, arguing over something.

Astraea pushes herself into a sitting position, staring in disbelief at the ruined gym around them. Shards of glass and metal litter the floor, and a gaping and jagged hole is carved through the one smooth glass wall. Screams stream through the gap and Astraea has to press her hands to her ears in a futile attempt to block out the noise. It's like that first night at the Avengers' Tower, with all the sound rising up around her in a painful mass. The sudden panic of almost everyone in the building is making a chorus that stings at Astraea's sensitive ears but she can't panic now. There's eight untrained staff members counting on her and Sam to get them safely out of the mess they're currently in.

Sam and Astraea exchange a glance of understanding. They'll strike together to disarm the intruders. The semi-circle of enemies should focus on them – the challengers – and leave the others alone. At best they'll take all the intruders down without a hitch, at worst they'll cause a distraction for the others to leave.

The next time a knife comes near Astraea's reach, secured in the boot of a short woman, the Avenger seizes the blade. Beside her, Sam does the same. She spins the blade into position, slashing at the woman's inner thigh. The intruder drops to the ground as Astraea rises up, bloody knife in hand. Sam disables his target, landing two blows to the knee and a cut to the left leg. The man sprawls on the ground.

The leader raises his gun. But Astraea strikes with lightning fast reflexes. Seizing the gun, she twists it from his grasp. He reaches for a knife, but Sam intercepts his hand with a kick. Astraea lifts the man with one hand, hurling him across the room. He slams into the glass-strewn ground. A smirk lights Astraea's face and she turns to the others invaders. Sam comes up beside her. They stand back-to-back, ready to launch their assault.

Astraea shrieks a battle-cry, launching herself at the nearest intruder. Her punch knocks him backwards. He charges forward, aiming a kick at her head. She grasps his leg, flipping him over her back. The man hits the ground with a thump. Astraea moves on to the next one and repeats.

Soon enough there's only two opponents left to go, the other 12 or so having been incapacitated by the pair of Avengers. Bloody streaks mar the floor and clothing of those involved. Both Sam and Astraea have a handful of small scratches and bruises. The class of trainees have backed against the far wall, close to the exit, and formed a barricade from various pieces of gym equipment. Looks as thought they got a more extensive combat demonstration that originally anticipated.

As Sam strikes down his last opponent, Astraea turns to face her own. The tall woman raises a gun, hate gleaming in her steel grey eyes, and fires. Astraea shifts sideways. The bullet thumps into her left shoulder and she falls backwards. Panting and gritting her teeth against the pain, Astraea seizes a fallen knife and hurls it as the woman. It smashes into chest. The blade sinks into her chest up to the hilt and Astraea barely gives it a second glance as she slumps down.

Warm, gentle hands help her into a raised position, and Astraea realises it's Sam. Ever the trained medic, he immediately sets about stopping pressure and plugging the wound. The small bullet is imbedded in the wall behind them, a streak of blood marking the pastel paint.

"Guess I can have some sleeping in time now," Astraea quips, face drawn tight with pain. "Has it caught anything?"

"I don't think it's hit the artery. Lucky for you." Sam doesn't look up from the wound. "Still, it'll be quite painful and need stitching up. Good thing we keep first aid kits in every room."

"Well, in a building of superheroes it'd be silly not to."

"Oh, I was referring to the time you decided it would be a good idea to juggle knives and walk around the corridors."

"They were plastic knives!" Astraea protests, gunshot wound temporarily forgotten. "It's like I chopped my hand off or anything."

"You still managed to end up with one sticking out of your arm," Sam raises an eyebrow at the teen giving him a half-hearted scowl, "Despite them being unsharpened. You never did say how that happened."

"A girl's gotta have her secrets. Besides, even I don't really know it happened. I'm just skilled that way or maybe – "

A loud crashing noise cuts off the rest of her words, and five people launch through the now useless door. The metal door hangs off its hinges and burns orange along one side. Vision's handiwork, Astraea decides, as the android pops his head through the wall. Steve and Natasha head the group, with three security staff members bursting in behind them. The group cast confused looks at the room. Perhaps they hadn't expected to see the mass of limp bodies on the ground, and a floor coated in blood, glass, and metal. The trainees are still hidden behind their barricade but begin to per out as the new people stream through the door. Four medics push through, and Sam surrenders Astraea's care to two of them. The others move to tend the injured intruders and then the previously unconscious Alex and Eleanor.

As the bodies are removed, Astraea casts a passive look at the woman with a knife through her heart. She flinches slightly as needle drives into her skin for stiches and looks away from the body. Maybe she shouldn't have killed her, but Astraea's instincts are battle-trained. After so many missions were having killer reactions keeps you alive long enough to help those in need, it's hard to not be so lethal when attacked. It's about survival and keeping those who depend on you alive.

Whatever the cost.

 **oOo**

Just over a week later and Astraea's shoulder has healed up enough to leave the medical wing and remove the sling. She's still kept on light duties, but the wound should be completed healed in a few more days. It's times like these when Astraea is thankful for her greater healing ability. It is nowhere near as rapid as Steve, who can shallow cuts close up in under a minute, but it's enough. Better than being benched for months. A week off is enough rest for the active Avenger. As much as she hates early mornings, Astraea hates being cooped up even more. While missions and training are off the table, she can least go for a light jog under supervision to ensure she doesn't overdo it.

Her and Sam's trainees haven't been sent back for self-defence session since the bomb exploded and the enemy invaded. Astraea can't blame them. They saw far more than they ever expected, and in a place where they are supposed to be _safe_. Earth's mightiest heroes. She scoffs at the thought. Maybe they are in some respects, but that strength is a challenge, broadcast across the world, for anyone willing to try and take them down. That leaves innocents caught in the crossfire. And that is something that the Avengers can't allow.

So, Astraea heads down to visit the trainees, checking up on them. The first time she saw a fight close up – the first time she saw the blood, smelt the stench of fighting, heard the screams of pain – Astraea promptly threw up. Hence, her visits to the trainees.

There is only Tana left now; the young woman is only a year older than Astraea herself and transferred from SHIELD. Tana had only been working there for six months when all hell broke loose, and SHIELD collapsed from the inside. It was possibly the reason why Tana had been so eager to learn how to fight – she'd been in battle before as her fellows either turned upon SHIELD or died defending the organisation.

Astraea pauses outside the office door, hand held up as though to knock. FRIDAY informed her that Tana Portis is office and alone. Which is perfect, because Astraea didn't think the ex-SHIELD personnel would like a crowd for the talk Astraea wanted to have.

The wooden and glass door swings open as Astraea stands there awkwardly, hand still raised. Tana looks at her, confusion making lines on her light brown skin, "Can I … uh, help you?".

Astraea lowers her arm with a rueful smile and shifts her weight from foot to foot. "Yeah, actually. I just wanted to … well, I was about to knock and see how you are after the … incident. I've been checking on all the people who were there. You're, uh, the last one."

"Saving the best for last?" Tana tilts her head up and a smile almost titches her lips up.

"Something like that." Astraea nibbles on her lip absently. "Anyways, maybe we should talk inside. Or not, I mean, if you're fine an' all then I'll go away and leave you be."

Tana just waves her inside with a lazy hand. "And miss the opportunity to boast that I had an Avenger in my office? No chance." She steps back into the room, settling down on a chair behind one of four desks in the office.

"Funnily enough, I was assigned to your PR team a week before the … the training session," Tana muses, tapping a pencil on the desk with one hand.

"Wait?! All us Avengers have a specific PR team?" Shock clouds Astraea's face as Tana nods. "Damn, I didn't know that. Does that mean a bunch of non-PR friendly things to get four people?"

"Nah, you're actually one of the easiest to deal with, Miss Blake. Captain Rogers has like, 10 people or something to manage all his shenanigans and publicity events. You and Miss Maximoff have the least." A smile twitches onto Tana's face. "Maybe you should get out more."

"Asking for more work, huh? P'hraps I ought to go slap a few reporters or cause a scandal." Tana laughs at her words. "Anyone in mind?"

"There's a few reporters I'd love to see get a slap. Always sneakin' around the compound, shoving cameras at cars as we drive in." Tana scowls, snapping the tip of the pencil off. "It doesn't matter though, not when you know there are people out there who'll try even more extreme methods to get in."

Astraea gives a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes. "Next time, we'll be ready. Though maybe we should – " A message pops up on her phone, drawing her words to a halt. "I've gotta go. Mission briefing. See you later?"

Tana nods and leaves the office with Astraea, but heads in the opposite direction. As they walk away, Tana stops and half-turns around to call after the retreating form of the Avenger:

"Hey, Blake! I'll buy drinks if you tell how you managed to stab your arm with a plastic fork."

Astraea stops and whirls around to face the other woman, who wears a mischievous smile. "Sure thing, Portis. As long as we keep it our secret."

"Deal." Tana waves her off. "Now go cause some public scandals for me."

"Of course!"

* * *

 **Well, there we go. A training session goes wrong, Astraea isn't a morning person, and we learn part of the reason why the base has first aid just simply everywhere. Well, the reason in my little pocket universe anyway. Health and safety, and incidents with plastic knives.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter. We get a little insight into a few characters' morning routines plus a bit of action when this training session goes wrong in all the worst ways.**

 **Until the next time,**

 **Look-for-the-miracles**


	8. The real life? Just fantasy?

**Hiya guys! It's Friday again and that means another chapter in this on-going collection of one-shots and short stories. Which ... is actually ending up being almost entirely just a bunch of one-shots. This one, however, is actually part of a two-shot. Originally it was going to be just the one chapter, but then I started another chapter before finishing the ending of this one and ended up tying them in together. I guess that can happen if you really write the chapters in any particular order.**

 **On another note, the chapter after this is likely to be the last chapter (or maybe the second-to-last chapter) with my weekly update schedule. I'll be going back to college in a couple of weeks time, so college work and studying will take the number one spot for my time. Not to mention the coursework I'll also be doing for history. I'll be out of pre-written chapters by that point, so updates may slow to once every two weeks, or could even only be once every month. This will allow me to write a bunch of chapters in planning for the future, focus on work, and let me start writing and planning chapters for my take on _Civil War_. Hopefully having fewer updates will allow me to make all of them on time and write better, fully-formed chapters instead of rushing out a bunch of half-baked chapters that may not even be on time.**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter. As always, I own absolutely nothing of Marvel.**

* * *

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?

Part one of two

* * *

"This was a terrible idea!" Steve grunts as he collapses beside Astraea and Wanda. The trio all duck as a car door hurtles over their heads.

"This was your idea," Astraea hisses back, holding a baton in one hand and a gun in the other. Wanda nods her head in agreement beside her, too exhausted to speak.

"Well, I'm having second thoughts about that right now." He risks a glance over the top of the wall, watching as an enormous creature seizes a lamppost and uses it as a bat. Vision, Sam and Rhodey weave around its head, firing shots that bounce of the lizard's scales. "We need to get past that thing's skin if we're to take it down."

"At least we can take bombs off the list now," Wanda adds. "Maybe I can pull a scale free, allowing a shot at inner skin?"

Steve takes a moment to contemplate her words. "Go for it. Nemesis and I will keep you protected, while Vision, Falcon and War Machine distract it." There's a chorus of assent to the plan over the comms. "Let's do this!"

The trio leaps out from behind the wall, circling around the creature's legs and dodging swings from the lamppost. Red tendrils snake from Wanda's palms as she reaches out with her abilities and her eyes ignite in scarlet red. Steve and Astraea stand around her, armed with a shield and sword respectively. The flyers continue to nip at the creature, acting as nothing more than gnats to irritate the giant lizard.

For the first 30 seconds, everything goes as planned. Wanda's arcs of red energy tug at the scales, slowing prying them from its side. Steve and Astraea manage to fight off the swarms of pint-sized lizards that pour out of the nearby streets. The giant lizard continues to rampage about, sweeping the lamppost in front of it and hurling vehicles around the cityscape.

After those first 30 seconds, however? Things no longer work as planned. A car bonnet knocks Astraea to the ground, where she lies still and unmoving. The smaller lizards threaten to overwhelm Steve and Wanda. Suddenly, first Sam is knocked from the sky and then Rhodey is thrown into a building. Vision follows soon after. With only two Avengers standing (Natasha is already down), the battle quickly turns on its head. The lizards swarm over Steve and Wanda and everything turns black.

Game over.

 **oOo**

Astraea steps out of the room, shaking her head slowly. "That didn't go exactly as planned." Her brown eyes shine with amusement as she glances around at her fellow Avengers. All of them are slowly coming out of their stupor, expect from Natasha who managed to be knocked out early (a highly uncommon practice for the highly-trained super-spy).

"You can say that again," Rhodey mutters, stretching his black jumpsuit-clad limbs. The outfit they wear is specifically designed for the simulated area, but it isn't exactly the most comfortable thing to wear.

"That didn't exactly go as planned."

"Yeah, yeah … we heard it the first time, Rhea." Sam shakes his head at her, earning a pout from the younger Avenger. "I'm not entirely sure why we had to do that in the first place."

"Because it's all 'for training purposes.'," the three female Avengers quote in unison as Steve gives them a half-hearted glare.

"But why such an odd lizard creature?" Wanda questions, head turning to gaze at the nearby team members, eyes filled with confusion. "I don't understand the reasoning. Surely we won't ever fight such a creature?"

"Because Godzilla," said a new voice.

The whole team spin around to face the door at the sound of a familiar but unexpected voice. Tony Stark strolls in, wearing his trademark megawatt smile and holding a StarkPhone in one hand. "Did you miss me?"

There's a moment of stunned silence as the group process the presence of Iron Man in their midst. He hadn't yet been for a visit since the Avengers moved into the new base. Rhodey seems the least surprised out of all them, but Astraea supposes that being Tony Stark's best friend would do that for you. Rhodey gives the billionaire a one-armed hug, drawing him further into the virtual reality training suite.

Something clicks now and Astraea gives Tony an accusatory glare. "You programmed this particular … challenge, didn't you, Tony?" He just smirks back at her, lowering his orange-tinted sunglasses down a fraction to look her in the eye. "Freaking knew it," she mutters, a hint of awe coming into her voice. "It was pretty realistic and a bugger to fight."

"Well, I am a genius or so they say."

"Oh, twat off." She gives him a playful shove.

"Any reason for this honoured visit, Stark, or just to show off your new tech?" Natasha's words are light, belying her soft frown.

"Actually, yes, there is." Tony gestures at the team to follow him and they do. He leads them down the corridors towards the common area. "Ta-da!"

As he opens the doors with a flourish and the Avengers pour in, Astraea realises that everything has been decked in Godzilla merchandise. There are giant, blow-up lizards standing next to the huge TV and posters covering the walls. Bowls of lizard-shaped snacks cover the coffee table alongside a host of drinks.

"Movie night?" Sam questions, flicking one of the blow-up Godzilla's on the nose. "How many are we watching?"

"As many as possible before we all fall asleep," Tony shots back, settling into one of the armchairs.

"I swear it was afternoon just a few minutes ago," Wanda murmurs, sinking into the sofa beside Natasha and Astraea.

"Eh." Natasha shrugs her shoulders as she tucks her feet onto the sofa. "We probably just lost time in simulator room. Hard to adjust when you come out sometimes."

"Mmm … " Wanda doesn't sound convinced. "Perhaps."

After that, there aren't any other questions and the group settle down to watch movie after movie. FRIDAY switches on the TV and the lights darken to almost nothing. The screen lights up and soon everyone is immersed in the films. They start with the original, planning to slowly move towards the more modern ones as the night goes. Assuming they can all stay awake that long.

 **oOo**

About halfway through the third film, the whole gang has ended up on the floor in a heap, limbs tangled together as they all gradually slip into sleep. A deafening roar runs through the compound and a few of them start awake. Astraea feels her heart pounding away, sure that she heard a roar from _outside_ the common room. But … it couldn't be, right?

Curious, Astraea untangles herself from the puppy pile and heads to the nearest window. There's something familiar about that roar; she just can't quite put her finger on it. Her tired and bloodshot eyes search the darkening outside. The shadows are everywhere, with the exterior only lighted by the moon, the stars and the odd spotlight. There's seemingly nothing out there so she shrugs her shoulders and turns from the window. Probably just her imagination, Astraea thinks sleepily as she barely stifles a yawn.

Then, as she turns back into the room, she realises the TV has been turned off the entire time. Sighing, Astraea smacks her head lightly. How could she have forgotten that FRIDAY always turns off the TV if they've all fallen asleep? That leaves only a few options for the origins of the roar: it could have been one of the other pretending, her imagination, or a third option that Astraea doesn't even want to consider because it seems too ridiculous for thought. But, at the same time, it seems to be the only likely explanation …

That roar was real.

Real, and coming from the outside. Which means there's a bunch of half-asleep Avengers that may be about to get attacked by Godzilla of all creatures or something very similar. Wonderful. Just exactly what everyone wants to happen at their movie night session. It just doesn't seem remotely possible, but Astraea has learnt to except the impossible with the Avengers. But still … Godzilla? It does seem a little far-fetched and fake.

Wanda seems to be one of the most awake at the moment, so Astraea takes her by the hand and drags her to the window.

"Please, please, please tell me that I'm just hearing things and that Godzilla isn't marching towards our base with intent to cause bloody destruction," Astraea half-begs, pleading with Wanda in the dim light. "'Cause I really don't wanna deal with this right now and it seems way too much of a coincidence."

"Because of the simulation battle early?" Wanda turns towards her, face pale and ghostly in the weak moonlight. "It does seem strange but … perhaps we have a traitor."

"A mole? I hope not. But how would they craft a realistic Godzilla so fast? Unless it's just a distraction for an attack somewhere else, designed to make us freak out?" Her words are rapid and almost crazed. "I mean, it's working. I am freaking out right now. What the bloody hell are we supposed to do? None of us are ready at all."

Astraea can see Wanda roll her eyes her in the gloom, and the other teenager starts giggling merrily. This goes on for a few minutes whilst Astraea stands there, bemused by Wanda's reaction. Maybe the other Avenger is just as freaked out as she is, and this is just Wanda's way of expressing it. Either that or they've all finally cracked.

"Uh … so you gonna explain the giggles or what?" she raises one eyebrow, watching as Wanda calms herself down.

"I said it myself earlier: 'it was afternoon only a few minutes ago'." There's a faint smile ghosting over Wanda's lips, playful and excited. "It was afternoon when we started the battle, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, but that was hours and hours ago," Astraea states, exasperated. "This really isn't helping the problem at hand. We've got to get everyone awake and active, gather our weapons, and evacuate the base. There's time to stand around discussing things we said earlier. Come on."

She steps away from the window, scanning the room for the nearest secret hatch. There ought to be a supply of guns and knives within it, as well as emergency rations and medical supplies. The base has at least one hatch like it in every room, even the bathrooms.

Wanda grabs her shoulder, gently turning Astraea back to face her. "Wha – Hey!"

"Just listen, okay." Wanda takes a deep breath, looking Astraea directly in the eyes. "I don't think we ever actually left the simulation. Or, if we did, we just jumped straight into another one. This isn't real."

"Okay, what?!"

"Think about it. It was afternoon when we started the battle sim. We weren't in there for hours and hours, so it shouldn't be so dark. And yet it is."

"But … we've had a movie night. I know I sat down, watched films, and ate food. I _know_ that I've done those things." She shakes her head in disbelief. "That has to have been real. And Tony turned up, too. He wasn't in the sim room with us."

"Maybe he is a simulation? Or the simulation started immediately after we all entered the room?"

Astraea frowns. The whole thing sounds ridiculous, but is it really any more ridiculous than thinking that Godzilla is really outside the room, storming towards the base? "Yeah but … wouldn't we have noticed that?"

"I don't think so. The only reason we might know we're in a simulation is if we've been told. Or, if we've started to figure out that we are." She gives Astraea a pointed look.

"Okay, okay. Say that you're right. How do we get out of the sim? Every other one we've been in we've had to either 'die' or complete the mission. So how are we, y'know, gonna do it this time? I don't fancy 'dying' and potentially really dying."

Wanda grins, white teeth bright in the dark. "We're probably being observed. Maybe if we just yell 'I think this is a simulation' they'll let us out."

Astraea has to laugh at that. "We can hope. Chances, though, are slimmer than the layer of chocolate on shop-bought millionaire's shortbread."

"That was oddly specific but okay." Wanda gives her a confused look. "Do you wanna do the yelling or should I?"

"Go for it." Astraea shrugs.

Wanda fixes her gaze skyward, looking towards one of the security cameras. "Uh, hi. We've figured out it's all a simulation. Can we leave now? Please." Her words are tentative and awkward. Nothing happens and the room stays exactly the same. She turns back to face Astraea, sighing in defeat. "I guess that didn't work out."

"Eh … worth a shot." She casts a glance around the room, eyeing it for anything to give away its nature as a virtual copy of the base. "I just don't even know how you managed to tell that this place was fake. I just … it looks so damn real." Astraea shakes her head slightly.

"Anyways, at least we know that didn't work," Astraea says with a touch of defeat. "What are our other options?"

"Fight Godzilla?" Wanda sounds doubtful and she giggles in the darkness. "Or perhaps we sit and wait for them to get bored of everything and let us out?"

"Bribery?"

"What would you do? Promise to bake them a cake if they let you out?" Her laughter increases, and it's a wonder that everyone else hasn't woken up yet.

"You know what," Astraea stands taller, hands on hips. Determined. "I hereby promise to pack the VR people a special cake if they just let us out of this damn simulation. And I make absolutely killer cakes so you ought to be letting us out, like, right now."

Nothing happens at first. Astraea sags, leaning against the windows and scowling. There is absolutely no point to them being in the simulation and it's starting to get annoying. Outside, roars still echo in the stillness of the night and the moon offers a pale, silvery light. Just in front of the tv, the puppy-pile of superheroes sleep on, undisturbed by the events. Astraea smiles at the sight of them, wishing it was real so she could take a picture. It's sweet, and she's sure Pepper would appreciate it.

Then the world fades to black and everything disappears.

 **oOo**

"Ugh!" Astraea is lying on a hard, wooden floor, limbs stiff and aching. "What on earth?"

Beside her, Wanda is already sat up and alert. She's busy stretching her arms and yawning but manages to smile when she notices her friend is awake.

"I guess they want cake." Wanda chuckles, gesturing to the now visible control room, no longer hidden by the colour-changed glass. It's filled with smiling people, who have 'cake?' written on a sheet of paper stuck to the window.

"Well, they're gonna have to wait until I can move with aching, aren't they?" Astraea grumbles, scrambling to move into an upright position. "Are the others awake?"

"Nearly. I think they were actually almost asleep in there. I didn't see Stark there, though."

"That's because it was my little prank." Tony steps into the room, dressed exactly the same as when he'd first popped in. "I was never in there. Well, not when the sim started. I did enter the room – that much was real."

"But I saw you in the virtual base. You were there," Wanda argues, frowning at the billionaire superhero.

"Yeah, but I wasn't kitted up with the same stuff you are." He nods towards their black jumpsuits, specially designed to track vitals and plot their movements during a simulation.

Astraea groans as she realises. "How did none of us notice that? It must have been so obvious. We're all in theses ridiculous jumpsuits and you're wearing a bloody suit. I'm such an idiot."

"We already knew that, Rhea." Madison pops her head through the door. "Hi, guys." She offers a little wave to the Avengers, all of whom are now awake and conversing quietly in groups. Rhodey gives Tony a wink, clearly understanding this latest prank.

"Were you in on it?" Astraea gives Madison a slight glare.

"Uh … what's the answer that doesn't get me killed?"

"Yes or no?"

"Yes … "

"Right!" Astraea takes Madison by the arm. "You can help me make a cake for the VR people now. C'mon Mads, we've got somewhere to be. I am so going to get you back for this. Just wait, I'll cook up the worst prank possible and then you'll see."

The two girls disappear out the door, heading towards the kitchen. Their loud voices echo down the corridors as they walk. Wanda just stares at the empty doorway, baffled by the display. Standing in the middle of the room, Tony smiles at they disappear, an echo from the past of some of his and Rhodey's arguments or rather, 'intense discussions' as he liked to call them. It looks the two of them will be having some interesting experiences in the kitchen.

* * *

 **There we go. Virtual reality, Godzilla, visits from Tony, and pranks of the team. Next week will be the chaos that ensues when two best friends prone to arguing with each other bake a cake.**

 **As for the title of this chapter, I'm sure you can guess it came from Queen's _Bohemian Rhapsody_. A brilliant song and the lines just fit the one-shot perfectly. By complete coincidence, I'm actually listening to another of their songs as I type this - _Killer Queen._**

 **Anyway, thank for reading this and I hope Y'all enjoy the rest of your day, or whatever is left of it. Time zones do make for some complications.**

 **Until next week,**

 **Look-for-the-miracles**


	9. High velocity eggs

**Hiya guys.**

 **I've decided to go on for the two-week update schedule from now onwards. I just went back to college on Wednesday, so there's now all that work to be thinking about. A-levels will be tough, but here's hoping I'll be fine.**

 **As always, I don't own Marvel.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

High velocity eggs

Part two of two

* * *

Astraea ducks as another projectile is launched at her head. It slams into the wall behind, leaving its' messy impact behind. Already the area is coated with the grim of battle and she's glad for her fast reflexes. If not for them … Well, it wouldn't be pleasant. She rolls behind the nearest object, grateful for the short respite it can provide. It doesn't last long, however, and soon enough her adversary is creeping around the corner, armed and dangerous.

"Would you please," Astraea says, clambering out from behind her hiding place, "stop throwing all these damn _eggs_ at me?!"

Madison smirks and primes her aim. "Not a chance. You started it."

That much is true, Astraea silently concedes. Her best friend is covered in flour and sugar from head-to-toe. Astraea herself has several streaks of the white powdery flour on her bare arms and egg yolk staining her lilac top.

"Yeah, well, that was a mistake," she mutters, covering her face with an empty bowl.

"Damn right it was. You'll have egg in your hair for literal weeks when I'm done here."

A wave of terror flickers through Astraea. "Oh, please don't. You know what happened last time I had eggy hair."

"Yeah, I do." Madison's smile widens. "And it was eggcellent."

"Right … " She rolls her eyes and sidesteps another egg. Shell scatters onto the tiled floor, crunching underfoot. Not for the first time, Astraea is glad they don't have a carpeted kitchen. "These yolks are really cracking me up."

"I think they're eggstraordinary."

Astraea snorts loudly, then clamps a sugar-dusted hand over her mouth. Soon enough, both girls are giggling and laughing like crazy, food fight forgotten. The merry sound of their laughter rings through the large, open-plan kitchen-diner.

Then the door whooshes open and Vision walks in.

Madison spins around so fast she nearly slips on the tiled flooring, feet skidding in her fluffy socks as she grabs at the counter for balance. An egg, held in the same hand that she grasped the countertop with, smashes open. The inside slowly drips down towards the floor. At the same time, Astraea gives an involuntary squeak and steps right into a pile of eggshell. It crunches loudly under her feet. Vision watches them with an impassive, somewhat confused, gaze.

"Uh … Hi Viz," Astraea says, waving a sticky hand at him. "We're just … well, we were baking a cake. Things just got a little, y'know, crazy. I mean, we were mixing all the ingredients, and then I accidentally coated Mads in flour, then we started a food fight. As you do."

The android looks no less confused after her explanation. "I do not understand the purpose of such a fight."

"Testing out high-velocity eggs?" Madison says with a shrug, padding round to the sink to wash her hands. "I dunno, man. It just happens. One minute I'm measuring out some butter, the next I'm ready to join the ghost committee." Her words are punctuated by a heavy glare to Astraea who just blinks back innocently. "Things just got a little eggstreme."

Astraea nods along. "I think I'm in shell shock, Mads. Eggscalty as you intended."

The other human cracks a wide grin. "Uh-huh. I've been doing eggceptionally well if I do say so myself."

Vision watches them, head flicking from one to another as they exchange puns as terrible as the mess they've made. Flour, sugar, and egg coats virtually every possible surface, including both of the bakers turned food fighters. Both girls wear wide grins.

Suddenly, Astraea winces and rubs her ears, tendrils of panic sneaking onto her face. "I think we might wanna clean up real quick. There are about three people heading this way and we've got an intensely messy kitchen … "

"Run?" Madison asks, eyes flicking between the door and the coated worktops. "Or how much do you think we can clean before they turn up?"

"Er … enough? We've gotta try, right?"

The two girls scramble to sweep up fallen eggshell, wipe down surfaces, and mop eggy residue off the floor. Vision floats above them, occasionally passing bowls and clothes between the two as they work in tandem. Soon enough, the kitchen is virtually spotless and they resume cake baking. Astraea finishes measuring out the butter, and Madison stands to sieve a new batch of flour into a clean bowl. All traces of the food fight are removed except for ...

"Do I even want to know why you're both covered in egg, flour, and who knows what else?" Rhodey steps through the door coming from the main building, holding a gym bag in one hand.

"They were having – " Vision starts as he slowly levitates back down again before being cut-off by rapid words from Madison.

" – having some trouble reaching the flour," Madison finishes, flashing a nervous look to Astraea.

"Yes! That's right; we couldn't reach the flour. Too high. So, I … stood on Mads' shoulders to get it but then it … it all came down on top of us?"

"And cracked the eggs I was holding."

"So, you see, it was just an accident. Just a simple, accidental accident."

Rhodey doesn't look convinced. "Right … I'll leave you to it then."

The older man slowly opens the door to the majority of the Avengers' personal quarters. Behind the sleek wooden door are the offices, library, games room, home cinema, the personal gym of the Avengers, and all the Avengers' bedrooms. It's a running joke between the team that the first step to becoming an Avenger is getting to come into the common room.

Only after Rhodey has left fully and shut the door do Astraea and Madison relax. Vision had very nearly blurted out all about the horrific mess he'd found them in. Not good. Aside from the fact they'd wasted over half-a-dozen eggs, it'd be a little hard to have to explain to all the older Avengers why they'd decided to coat the kitchen in eggs, flour, and sugar. Astraea shudders at the thought; she wouldn't want to face the 'eyebrows of disappointment' again from Steve.

"Perhaps we outta shower and change clothes before we finish up." Madison places her mixing spoon in the floor, picking at her coated t-shirt with distaste on her tanned face. "Y'know, before someone else gets suspicious."

"Yeah but … cake!" Astraea whines, pouting her bottom lip playfully. Madison swats her on the arm. "Hey! I just think, might as well finish now and not get any other clothes mucky."

"I suppose … but who'll watch the cake?"

Astraea turns to the android, who has been silently observing the two as they finished making the cake mixture, ready to pour into the cake tins. "Vision – would you mind watching the cakes for us? I mean, when they're in the oven an' all. Then Mads and I can shower and get changed and stuff without worrying about them."

"I shall endeavour to watch your cakes well," Vision confirms, settling down to sit in front of the oven.

Satisfied, Astraea turns to Madison with a look that says 'see, told you everything will be fine.'. The other female shrugs and heads towards her room, quickly followed by Astraea.

 **oOo**

When the two young women return, refreshed from their showers, Vision is taking the cake out of the oven with his bare hands. Both of them gape at him, brown and green eyes going wide with shock and surprise. He lifts the tins out of the hot oven one at a time, setting them down on the cooling racks already placed nearby and turns around to wave hello.

Madison recovers first from the scene before them. "Thanks, Viz! Now I know who I'm gonna ask when I need things out of the oven. Who needs oven gloves when there's a super android who can do it for you?" She steps further into the room, grinning cheerfully.

"How are your hands not all melted, Viz?" Astraea finally asks, unable to stop herself from examining the android's hands. "I mean, what's the melting point of vibranium anyways? Your hands don't seem to be all melted so I guess it's higher than the temperature needed to cook a cake but still, ya can never be too careful. Maybe we should investigate and see what the – "

"Alright, maybe we should save the science for later? Perhaps we oughta sort out our main problem." Madison turns to Astraea, a serious look in her bright eyes (which somehow still have a dusting of flour just below them).

"Yeah … " Astraea agrees hesitantly. "What kinda problem is this?"

"The one about how we're going to decorate this cake of ours!"

Astraea gives a fake pout. "And that's more important than science?" She questions, gesturing wildly through the air as she says the last word.

"Uh-huh. Come on Mad Scientist, we need to make a fabulous looking cake so hit the internet and let's do this." Madison directs Astraea to sit down at the breakfast bar where both their StarkPads are currently sitting.

"I was thinking of checking out Pinterest for some ideas. Y'know, there's loads of pretty designs on there," Madison says, tapping away on the screen. Several pictures of fancy cakes appear on the slightly smudged screen.

Astraea rolls her eyes and nudges Madison with her elbow. "Yeah, and you know what happens whenever we try those."

"A catastrophe!" Both girls say in unison.

"Besides," Astraea continues, "what's wrong with covering it regular icing? Or just dusting with icing sugar. It is a Victoria sandwich cake after all." She gives the cooling cake a thoughtful look. "Although, I think we should add buttercream in the middle. It does, y'know, make it taste nicer."

"You just want to make extra buttercream and eat it all!" Madison accuses with laughter in her eyes.

"Yeah, well, that doesn't even matter. This cake is for the VR people so there."

"That makes no sense at all, but okay. How about making the Avengers' symbol on the top?"

Astraea considers for a moment. "Alright, but you can paint the 'A'. You've got a better hand for the fancy decorating stuff."

"Another of my wonderful skills," Madison jokes as she pulls up an image of the Avengers' symbol on her tablet. "We do have blue food colouring, don't we?"

"Uh … " Astraea pulls a face as she thinks, forehead creasing into a frown and lips pouting slightly. "That is an excellent question to which the answer is … um … I don't know?"

She shrugs and slips off her stool, padding over to one of the drawers of baking supplies. There's a whole drawer dedicated purely to decorations – including sprinkles, marshmallows, hundreds and thousands, tiny icing snowflakes, and food colouring of just about every shade and colour possible. But blue is one colour they're currently lacking in after an enormous ocean-themed cake concocted a week ago by Natasha and Sam for World Ocean Day on the 8th of June. As Astraea inspects the bottle, she notices with a slight sigh that the team haven't gotten around to replacing it yet.

Madison frowns when Astraea relays the news back to her. "Guess we'll have to go shopping then. Shame – I was hoping to stay in this afternoon." Astraea raises an eyebrow at her as if to say 'you helped cause the need for the cake, you can buy the blue food colouring'. "Ugh … but I guess I could do with a little trip out with my best friend. We can have a little trip out. Together."

"Sneaky, sneaky, Mads," Astraea mutters at her friend's words, playfully scowling until an idea comes to her. "We could get some more of those muffins that everyone devoured in like, three seconds flat."

"I seem to remember you eating at least three of them." Madison tilts her head at her friend, a smile playing over her lips. "Do you remember that?"

Astraea smirks. "I remember no such thing. Anyways, I bought all of them so you know, I'm allowed to eat as many as I want. Shall we get going?"

"Sure." Madison shrugs and heads to the door, pulling on trainers as she does so. "See ya later Vision – don't eat all the cake."

Snorting with laughter, Astraea leaves with her and tugs on her ankle boots. "Thanks for your help, Viz. And … uh, please, please, please don't tell anyone about our little food fight earlier. I think we'd really rather they wouldn't find out."

"As you wish," Vision replies, not looking up from his book. "But the others could always check the surveillance footage if they really wished to know."

"Voldemort's nipple!" Astraea almost – but not quite – trips over as she comes to a sudden stop in the doorway after hearing Vision's words. "I forgot out that. Hmm … guess Mads and I just have to hope nobody'll bother to check anything like that."

With those words, Astraea heads outside to where Madison waits with one of the several on-base cars. This time, the ex-agent has opted for a practical small SUV and not one of the two-seater sports cars kept around for missions. After Madison had taken one of them (a lime green one with black leather seats) on a previous shopping trip, they'd elected to never take one again. Having to sit with a good part of the food piled up around you didn't make for the best journey home as the passenger. Astraea shudders slightly at the memory as she clambers in. Hopefully, this journey will be much more comfortable than that last one.

 **oOo**

The shopping trip is largely uneventful. They grab several packages of muffins (in chocolate, blueberry, and toffee flavours) and enough blue food colouring to last for the apocalypse. Well, Astraea muses, maybe they didn't get quite that much but they grabbed plenty. Enough to fill a small shopping bag with the small bottles of blue liquid.

Vision is engrossed in his book when they return to the compound. And still standing up in the corner of the room. Madison nods towards him as she walks in, lugging two shopping bags filled with cupcakes and a few other bits and bobs.

"Perks of being a robot person," she mutters softly under her breath. "I'd be able to stay up all night and binge watch but still be able to work fine in the morning. It's a win-win situation."

"Yeah, but you wouldn't be able to eat anything and really enjoy it," Astraea counters, dumping her bags onto the worktop. She pulls out a handful of food colouring bottles and stands up next to the bag before reaching to pull open the drawer of baking supplies.

Madison peeks over Astraea's shoulder into the drawer then back to the full bag. "There's no way we're getting all of those in there, Rhea. I think we maybe, uh, got too many? Little bit overboard, don't ya think?"

"Eh … It'll be fine. We'll just have to make a bunch of blue cakes and stuff. Although," Astraea picks a bottle up, eyeing it with an evil grin, "I'm sure we could find other uses of this stuff."

"Agreed. Now, let's get doing that icing."

 **oOo**

After spending another hour decorating the cake (and arguing about who got to eat the most icing), the pair of best friends finally finishes their project. The cake is coated with a thick layer of buttercream arranged to display the Avengers' symbol and sandwiched with another thick layer of lurid blue buttercream icing. Astraea had tipped nearly an entire bottle of blue food colouring into the blue of buttercream icing producing a ridiculously blue colour.

"It's revenge for making us go through the simulation. We go through the sim, they can have icing they can barely stand to look at," she had explained, hands dusted with icing sugar.

Now that they are finally ready, Madison takes a few photos on her StarkPad for FRIDAY to upload to the Avengers' official social media accounts on Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and Facebook. The team have a group account on each of the sites and apps, plus separate accounts for each of them. FRIDAY manages all accounts to keep them secure and protected, as well as uploading things to the official group accounts.

Astraea boxes the cake up to protect it on its journey, then the two girls leave to deliver the cake to the people in the Virtual Reality department. It's only a small department at the moment with around 15 staff members, but they hope to develop it soon. But for now, they'll be getting a cake delivery and not extra workers.

 **oOo**

By the time the girls return from the VR department, the common room is full of Avengers, intently watching something on the screen. There are roars of laughter echoing throughout the room and filling the large common room with the sound. Curious, Madison quietly drops the now empty cake box onto the shiny countertop and gestures for Astraea to follow her just around the room divider to see what could cause the team to cackle like a pack of wild hyenas.

Once they see the screen both girls' cheeks flame up in embarrassment. Astraea looks down at her feet, grinning to herself faintly and fiddling with her blue gemstone bracelet. Madison reacts a little louder.

"Aw, for fuck's sake! How – by merlin's bloody underpants – did you manage to find out about that?" Her startled cry drags the others' attention away from the screen. FRIDAY pauses the video of the security footage, just as another egg is sailing towards Astraea's position, crouched against the cupboards.

The others all adopt innocent looks. Madison glares at Vision, who simply meets her gaze.

"Oh, I did not tell anyone, in case you are wondering," Vision says, calm and collected under Madison's furious gaze.

"Yeah, well, how come you're all watching it then? Riddle me that, huh?"

Natasha leans forward, resting her head on the back of the sofa. "There's this little thing called us actually checking the security footage." She grins wickedly. "And we could you chatting about it. FRIDAY helped tremendously."

Madison mutters, "Traitor," in the direction of the ceiling just as Astraea asks, "So how long have you been watching it?"

The Avengers exchange looks.

"I think this is the third time," Sam calls out, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Nah … has to have been at least the fourth time," Rhodey counters.

Astraea moans and buries her head in her arms. "Ugh … could this get any worse? I can't believe you've actually watched that stupid thing multiple times."

"Well," Rhodey starts, a wicked smile forming on his face, "I think it was eggcellent."

"Eggceptional," Wanda adds. "Really cracking."

The team all laugh again, and Astraea and Madison settle down in the nearest empty seats. FRIDAY turns the footage back on again. Madison tucks her feet up and turns to exchange eye contact with each of the Avengers.

"So, who did you think won?"

* * *

 **There we have it. This entire chapter came from the phrase 'high velocity eggs' and my love of puns. Eggspecially egg ones. This just sort of sprung up around it. I wanted a food fight between friends and it ended up being in the middle of making a cake. Funny how plot bunnies work sometimes.**

 **Anyways, that's it for now. I hope you enjoyed, and I would like to thank my readers for taking the time to read this little patched together collection of little snapshots in the life of my altered universe Avengers.**

 **Look-for-the-miracles**


End file.
